Can Lyon roar in run-in? | OneFootball

Olympique Lyonnais have stumbled in Ligue 1 in recent games and limped into the Coupe de France quarter-finals during the week, so can Rudi Garcia’s side rediscover their form against Angers SCO on Sunday with a vital top-three finish at stake?

Olympique Lyonnais - Angers SCO Sunday at 21:00 CET (1900 GMT)

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Lyon need to get their act together quickly if their season is not to end in disappointment. OL needed a late equaliser by Lucas Paqueta to grab a 1-1 draw away at RC Lens last weekend, a result that stretched their winless sequence in Ligue 1 Uber Eats to three matches. They have won just once in five, and just twice in seven league outings.

Garcia’s team have taken just nine points from the last 21 available, allowing their rivals to move ahead in the title race. Over the same time AS Monaco have collected 14 points, while Paris Saint-Germain and LOSC have both picked up 12 points. It could have been worse for Lyon, but they still ended last weekend in fourth place, five points behind leaders Lille with seven matches to play. Crucially, they also slipped a point behind Monaco in third.

Highlights: Paqueta grabs Lyon point at Lens

A first league title since 2008 remains the dream, but what Lyon really need to do is secure a top-three finish and a return to the UEFA Champions League after missing out on Europe altogether this season. Their run-in is littered with potential pitfalls and two huge games stand out: they host Lille on April 25 and visit Monaco a week later. However, that means their top-three destiny remains in their own hands, and they also still have to play struggling trio FC Nantes, FC Lorient and Nîmes Olympique. First up it is Angers, another fixture Lyon cannot take lightly.

OL come into this game after requiring penalties to see off third-tier Red Star in the Paris suburbs in the last 16 of the Coupe de France on Thursday. They had led 2-0 at the interval at the Stade Bauer thanks to goals by Paqueta and Memphis Depay, but were pegged back to 2-2 in the second half before prevailing 5-4 in the shoot-out.

Angers safe in mid-table

“The most important thing is that we qualified. However we can’t be getting pegged back like that when we are 2-0 up, so that is disappointing,” midfielder Maxence Caqueret told OL TV. “It is a shortcoming of ours that we tend to take our foot off the pedal when we are winning. That is something we will need to put right because we have some important matches coming up.”

Algerian striker Islam Slimani is available again after missing the Red Star tie due to suspension. Garcia will make changes after shuffling his squad in the Cup, with Anthony Lopes set to return in goal in place of Julian Pollersbeck. Jason Denayer and Karl Toko-Ekambi are also likely to return to the line-up.

Angers won in the Coupe de France in midweek too, edging fourth-tier CS Sedan Ardennes 1-0 in north-eastern France thanks to a rare goal by full-back Vincent Manceau. They would love to go all the way to the final in Stéphane Moulin’s last season in charge but Angers will also want to finish the league campaign strongly.

Highlights: All square between SCO and Montpellier

With 41 points they are almost certainly safe for another year but are also surely now too far away from the fight for European places. A 1-1 home draw with Montpellier Hérault SC last time out left the SCO with just one win in their last nine league outings. They have not won any of their last nine league meetings with OL since a 2-0 victory at the old Stade de Gerland in December 2015.

Angers have selection concerns, with Jimmy Cabot, Sofiane Boufal and Lassana Coulibaly among the players who have been in the treatment room. Farid El-Melali missed the Sedan tie in midweek following a positive Covid-19 test. Loïs Diony also missed that game due to an unspecified illness.

Probable teams

Lyon: Lopes - Dubois, Denayer, Marcelo, Cornet- Paqueta, Mendes, Bruno - Kadewere, Depay, Ekambi

Angers: Bernardoni - Doumbia, Thomas, Traore, Manceau Mangani, Amadou - Bobichon, Fulgini, Capelle - Bahoken