Lyon will hope to remain in the title mix when they travel to the Stade Augustine-Delaune II for a Friday night French Ligue 1 clash against Reims. The visitors have been great on their travels this season and can get past Reims, who are often unconvincing at home.
Les Gones were in fine form last time out as they earned a 5-2 victory over Sochaux in the Coupe de France. Despite resting some of their top players, they still had too much quality for the Ligue 2 side with a brace from Ryan Cherki helping them on their way to victory.
It was the second straight win for Rudi Garcia’s men, who also claimed a 1-0 victory over Rennes in their previous Ligue 1 outing thanks to Houssem Aouar's second half effort. They are third on the table and know a win will take them top, at least for a few hours.
Lyon have shown title-chasing form this season and asides from one or two stumbles, they have been consistent. They have lost just once in their last eight Ligue 1 matches, a run that includes three wins in their last four fixtures on the road.
Reims were not in Coupe de France action last weekend and head into Friday’s match off the back of a 2-1 win at Nantes in their last Ligue 1 fixture. They fought back from a goal down with efforts from Ghislain Konan and Yunis Abdelhamid getting them the win.
The result ended a run of six matches without a win for David Guion's men, who had been on a steady decline in recent weeks. They remain 12th on the table, four points off the top 10.
Reims have been hampered by a poor home form this season and are winless in their last four matches at the Stade Augustine-Delaune II. They have already lost at home to title chasers Lille and PSG this season and were beaten by Ligue 2 team Valenciennes in the Coupe de France.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have installed Lyon as overwhelming favourites here and novibet is offering 13/25 for an away win. A win for Reims is priced at 6/1 by BetVictor while a draw is set at odds of 39/10 by BetVictor.
With their top players returning for this one, I am tempted to lean towards a win for Lyon.
Head to head
Lyon have the Upper hand in this fixture with seven wins from 13 previous matches. Reims have won four times while there have been just two draws between both teams.
Les Gones claimed a 3-0 victory in the reverse fixture back in December with Karl Toko Ekambi getting one of the goals.
Players to watch
After getting a full week of rest, Lyon’s top scorers Memphis Depay and Karl Toko Ekambi should return fresh for Friday’s match. Skybet is offering 13/10 on Memphis Depay to score anytime while Toko Ekambi is backed at 17/10 in the same market by Paddy Power.
Boulaye Dia is the leading scorer for Reims this season with 12 Ligue 1 goals. The striker is priced at 13/5 by bet365 in the anytime goalscorer market while the same firm has him at 17/2 to score the first goal.
Anything else catch the eye?
Lyon are always a good bet for goals and have seen over 3.5 goals in five of their last eight away matches. A similar outcome is priced at 15/8 by Unibet while betway are offering 3/4 for over 2.5 goals.
You can also increase the value of your bet with a win/goals combination with SBK offering 6/5 for a Lyon win and over 2.5 goals. A score/win double could also be worth a punt with a Lyon win and Memphis Depay anytime goalscorer priced at 13/8 by Skybet.
Depay has also scored the opening goal in nine matches this season and is valued at 4/1 by bet365 for a repeat on Friday.
This French Ligue 1 match between Reims and Lyon will be played on Mar 12, 2021 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Reims vs Lyon prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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