Prediction: Olympique Lyon vs PSG

Verdict: Away Win

Best odds: 17/20

Bookmaker: bet365

Olympique Lyon are set to welcome Paris Saint-Germain to the Parc Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday evening in what will be the sixth League 1 game of the 2019/20 season for both teams.

Lyon

Ever since the rise of Paris Saint-Germain to the level of domination in French football we’re seeing in recent years, Lyon has been one of the few teams continuously making efforts to stay within sight of them, finishing within the top four spots every season. The greatest tangible reward for it is that they play in the Champions League with relative regularity.

This term, their start, even though far from poor in itself with two wins, two draws and one defeat, has seen them drop to the 8th place in the table. The campaign began with a convincing win (3-0) over AS Monaco and an absolute thrashing (6-0) of Angers, before a defeat at the hands of Montpellier brought back down to earth hard. They subsequently shared the spoils with Bordeaux and Amiens, as well as Zenit Saint Petersburg in their Champions League opener on Tuesday.

Team News

Defender Fernando Marcal has returned to training after a spell on the sidelines due to injury, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll be in contention for this match. Head coach Sylvinho has no fresh injury concerns.

Paris Saint-Germain

There’s really not much to say about PSG and their fortunes in recent years that hasn’t been reported far and wide. They’ve been crowned French champions six times in the last seven seasons, with only Monaco managing to usurp them from the throne in 2017. Their domination in domestic surroundings simply cannot be disputed with few clubs in the world capable of matching their financial power, and they are continuously pronounced favourites for the crown each year even before the season begins.

However, the Champions League trophy remains for them an unfulfilled dream, though they have gotten off to a flying start this time around by thrashing 13-time competition winners Real Madrid 3-0 at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.

PSG lead the pack in Ligue 1 (surprise, surprise) after five rounds, with four wins and a defeat on their account. It was Rennes who took their scalp again in the second round, bringing up memories of their triumph over the champions in last season’s French Cup final. Meanwhile, Nimes, Toulouse, Metz and Strasbourg all fell victim to the star-studded team.

Team News

Coach Thomas Tuchel will be without defenders Thilo Kehrer and Colin Dagba, as well as attacking midfielder Julian Draxler. Striker Edinson Cavani is being assessed on a daily basis and Kylian Mbappe is back in training after a hamstring problem, but even if the two forwards aren’t available, PSG have shown on Wednesday that they can cope well with their absence. Mauro Icardi, who arrived from Inter Milan this summer, is likely to start again.

Conclusion

At this particular moment, it seems like Lyon simply don’t have anything they can throw at the champions that the champions couldn’t handle. Lyon are a good team, but they are no match for PSG who are flying high on confidence after squashing Real Madrid in midweek.

Verdict: Away Win

Best odds: 17/20

Bookmaker: bet365