• Lyon aren’t going thru the best moment right now, Memphis Depay looks certain to leave for Barcelona, Marcal (CB) was sold to Wolves, Jeff Reine-Adelaide has expressed his desire to leave the club and their are rumours linking Aouar to the Premier League.
  • Of the regular back 3, Marcal was arguably the best defender. With him on the pitch, they only allowed 0.76 goals per game so he will be badly missed this season.
  • Bordeaux look more robust this season with Jean-Louis Gasset taking over from Paulo Sousa. Gasset’s last stint in Ligue 1 was a successful one with St. Etienne (2017-2019)
  • Gasset’s teams do tend to lack imagination but I expect them to be a lot more organised than previous seasons. So far this season we’ve seen a very organised team
  • Gasset did a great job with St. Etienne the last time he was employed and even ended the 18/19 season with the 4th best defence and the 3rd highest xG total in the league
  • The season has started positively, they drew 0-0 with Nantes in the season opener allowing just 0.19xG (they played with 10 men for +70mins). In their 2nd game, they travelled to Angers and ran out 2-0 winners, again putting in a very solid defensively display allowing just 0.51 xGA
  • Lyon’s road form in Ligue 1 prior to the lockdown wasn’t anything special with 1.67 scored per game and 1.33 conceded per game (1.3xG for 0.99xG against)
  • Lyon’s last 10 road matches against teams in the top half of the table isn’t that inspiring either. They won just 4 of their last 10 with 15 scored and 14 conceded
  • Even with Paulo Sousa (who I don’t rate), Bordeaux proved difficult to beat when hosting Top 6 teams. In their last 10 they’re unbeaten in 6 of their last 10 with 12 scored and 11 conceded

Final word: With key players leaving I’m not sure Lyon will be in the best frame of mind for an already tough trip to Bordeaux. I expected a cagey low scoring game with Bordeaux covering.

Bordeaux +0.5 Asian Handicap at 1.98 with Pinnacle - 2 units