Lyon’s last chance against title-chasing Monaco | OneFootball

AS Monaco are still dreaming of the Ligue 1 Uber Eats title while Sunday’s huge game at the Stade Louis II is also the last chance for Olympique Lyonnais in their bid to finish in the top three.

AS Monaco - Olympique Lyonnais Sunday at 21:00 CET (1900 GMT)

>> LIVE SCORING, STATS AND COMMENTARY

This showdown looked set to be decisive for both sides’ title hopes, but Lyon were knocked out of contention to win the league last weekend when they threw away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at home to LOSC, slipping six points off top spot with just four matches remaining.

However, Monaco remain right in the hunt in third place, two points behind leaders Lille and one behind Paris Saint-Germain in second. Niko Kovac’s side have been the best team in Ligue 1 in 2021, with 14 wins and one defeat in 17 games, and 44 points collected out of a possible 51. For so long carried by the goals of Kevin Volland and Wissam Ben Yedder, the principality side have found a remarkable defensive solidity in recent weeks, conceding just one goal in their last 12 matches in all competitions and keeping nine straight clean sheets.

Watch: Monaco win at Angers

That run includes a 2-0 win in Lyon just 10 days ago in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France, as Monaco avenged a 4-1 loss at the Groupama Stadium in the last league meeting of the clubs in October.

Kovac: 'Let's dream!'

Having ended Lyon’s hopes of cup success, the 2017 champions can now effectively end their chances of a top-three finish too, for a Monaco victory here would wrap up their return to Europe’s elite club competition next season by creating a seven-point gap between the teams with just nine points left to play for.

“We are taking this step by step, one game at a time. If we can win them all, maybe there will be something beautiful waiting for us at the end,” said Kovac after his side ground out a 1-0 win at Angers SCO last weekend thanks to substitute Ben Yedder’s late strike.

“I have the feeling that the players believe in their chances and I don’t want to stop them from dreaming. We can still finish third, second, or even higher. It is still wide open. Nobody expected Monaco to be here, but it’s all thanks to the work put in by the players, so let’s dream!”

Lyon: 'Nothing to lose'

Indeed Monaco, who will face fourth-tier side Rumilly Vallières in the Coupe de France semi-finals, can still dream of a domestic double, while a campaign that has promised so much for Lyon now risks ending in disappointment. Having missed out on European qualification altogether this season, they will have to settle for fourth and a place in next season’s Europa League unless they can somehow pull back one of the sides above them.

Win in Monaco and the gap between third and fourth will be back down to a single point before Rudi Garcia’s side finish the season with home games against FC Lorient and OGC Nice either side of a trip to struggling Nîmes Olympique. Lyon, though, have simply not been good enough since early February, winning just four of their last 10 league games.

Watch: Lyon stunned by Yilmaz and Lille

“We have nothing left to lose,” insisted Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas this week. “We could have a real go in the Europa League if we finish fourth but that is not what is motivating us at all. We can still turn this around. If we can be as clinical as we have been in the past and all come together we can still qualify for the Champions League. We need to get our injured players back. It will come down to tactics, and it is down to the coach to make the right decisions. We have the means to win and we will win.”

Memphis Depay will have a key role to play. Lyon’s top scorer this season with 20 goals in all competitions famously scored a hat-trick on the final day of the 2017-18 season against Nice to secure a win that saw them pip Olympique de Marseille to take third place. Another star turn by Depay at the Stade Louis II could make the difference, before he misses next week’s game against Lorient due to suspension.

Monaco, meanwhile, have selection problems, partly due to a wave of positive Covid-19 tests. Aleksandr Golovin is the latest player to test positive for the virus, following the likes of Krépin Diatta and Gelson Martins recently. Stevan Jovetic has a calf injury and Sofiane Diop is also sidelined.

Probable teams

Monaco: Lecomte; Sidibé, Maripan, Disasi; Aguilar, Fofana, Tchouaméni, Ballo-Touré; Volland, Henrique; Ben Yedder

Lyon: Lopes; Marcelo, Denayer, De Sciglio; Dubois, Caqueret, Guimaraes, Cornet; Paqueta; Toko Ekambi, Memphis

>> One to watch: Maxence Caqueret, Lyon's midfield metronome >> Lille-Nice preview: Dogues with a bone aiming for the title >> Sampaoli: 'Dimitri is getting better and better' >> Yilmaz, Mbappé, Volland, Depay - the stars of the title race

>> Title race: More edge-of-seat action on the cards!