Garde: Experience key to derby success

Lyon coach Remi Garde believes his side’s experience will be the key to beating Saint-Etienne in Saturday’s Ligue 1 derby.

The sides last met in the Coupe de la Ligue in October when Lyon prevailed 2-0.

But Saint-Etienne are enjoying strong form in the league, sitting in fourth place – three points clear of seventh-placed Lyon – ahead of the match at the Stade Geoffrey-Guichard.

And Garde warned his players their win in the Coupe de la Ligue will mean nothing when the sides meet at the weekend.

“It’s a bit far away now,” Garde said of the cup triumph. “The teams are enjoying different form now. So I think it will be a whole new game this weekend.”

“There will be several key factors but experience will be one of them.”

“If someone tells you he feels no pressure at the end of the championship I’ll find it difficult to believe.”

“We feel the pressure. There are points at stake. It represents a lot for us here in Lyon, for them in Saint-Etienne and for the fans.”

“It’s a team that has improved a lot during the season. They have qualities and they play on them. Have they surprised me? I don’t know what to say. They are where they deserve to be.”