Lyon and Marseille to serve up a spicy French Cup match

Lyon manager Claude Puel promised a match with extra spice against Marseille in the French Cup on Wednesday compared to the bland goalless draw in the league before Christmas.

Lyon thrashed fifth-tier Concarneau 6-0 at the weekend to qualify for this last 32 fixture which will also act as a litmus test for both teams’ championship credentials.

“This will be a no-holds barred cup match,” said Puel.

“The 0-0 draw in the league (on December 14 in Lyon) was a good result for Marseille who did not have to push themselves.

“We were very lacklustre in that match, just four days after a Champions League game and we had been too tired to go for it against Marseille. This time, both teams will be fresher and that should make for a match with more spice.”

Statistics show Lyon’s firepower has been subdued in the last 12 months.

Although Karim Benzema has managed 10 league goals this season, Lyon’s 26 goals in total lags well behind the 41 they scored at the same stage last term, finishing with a club record 74.

More worrying still, Benzema hasn’t scored since the 1-0 victory over Caen on January 20 but Puel was confident he would stop firing blanks soon.

“I would rather he was more successful in front of goal but I think he will start scoring again naturally and I’m still general happy with his performances,” Puel said after the Concarneau victory.

Brazilian freekick specialist Juninho firmly backed Benzema, saying he was surprised it had not been made clear that tighter marking this season was behind his goal drought.

“Karim is being marked much more tightly and is a targeted man on the pitch these days,” said Juninho.

“He is not protected enough and I am surprised no one seems to be picking up on that.

“Apart from Karim, we don’t have a lot of players capable of scoring, which is linked to our more direct style of playing these days. We are working less on the build-up play and focusing more on quickly getting the ball to the strikers, particularly Karim.”

“Ederson and Cesar Delgado, who both scored against Grenoble (on January 17), could make the difference in helping the team in 2009,” he added.

Lyon are expected to recruit Brazilian Ricardo Oliveira from Real Zaragoza but that is linked to the departure of Fred who would free up a non-EU player spot.

Fred is training with the reserves these days while the Achilles tendon injury to Sidney Gouvou has further limited Lyon’s attacking options. West Ham’s Julien Faubert, a right-sided utility player, is a transfer target to fill the void created by Govou’s absence.