Lyon-Lille is a match valid for the round of 16 of the French Cup and is played on Wednesday at 6:30pm: live TV, predictions, likely formations.
Prominent in the French Cup round of 16 schedule is the challenge between Lyon and Lille, two teams accustomed to frequent the upper echelons of the French top league table. This year those who are disappointing are the Gones, who even ended up fighting to avoid a relegation that would be resounding.
After changing as many as two coaches (Blanc, Grosso), Lyon is struggling to climb back up the ladder: new coach Pierre Sage, who at first was supposed to be just a ferryman, seems to have found a way to turn around a team built to aim for Europe but which at the same time has to deal with obvious character limits. Amid highs and lows, however, Lacazette and his teammates have managed to move out of the red zone and after their heavy victory over Marseille last Sunday – Provençals beaten 1-0 thanks to a goal by the former Arsenal striker – they flew to +3 from third-last Metz. The French Cup could become a sort of shortcut to reach a Europe that, via the league, is now impossible to conquer, given the huge gap from sixth. Lyon has so far gotten the better of exclusively lower-ranked teams such as Pontarlier (0-3) and Bergerac Perigord (1-2).
Lille has not encountered any major obstacles either: in the 32nds the Dogues scored 12 goals against the Golden Lion, while it was much less wide (0-1) in its victory with Racing Club.
In 2024, Paulo Fonseca’s team is still undefeated, with a haul of four wins and one draw. In Ligue 1 on the last day, Lille scrambled Clermont 4-0, joining Monaco, stopped by Le Havre, in fourth place. In the Dogues’ sights, of course, is third, occupied momentarily by Brest, which has only one more point.
The prediction
Lille managed to conquer Groupama Stadium (0-2) last November, taking advantage of a Lyon in clear trouble and perhaps experiencing its worst moment. The Dogues will try to avenge the defeat of a year ago, when they were eliminated by the Gones themselves after penalties, but they will find a more motivated opponent than in the last challenge. Lille slightly favored in a match of at least two goals overall.
Lyon-Lille’s likely lineups
LYON (3-4-3): Lopes; Caleta-Car, Lovren, O’Brien; Mata, Caqueret, Tolisso, Henrique; Fofana, Lacazette, Cherki.
LILLE (4-2-3-1): Chevalier; Tiago Santos, Yoro, Alexsandro, Ismaily; André, Bentaleb; Zeghrova, Angel Gomes, Gudmundsson; David.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
