Lyon vs Strasbourg prediction: FRANCE: Ligue 1 betting tips on match 2024-08-29 18:45.
[p]Lyon have made a dreadful start to 2024/25, conceding five times without reply across defeats to Rennes and Monaco. Not since 1992/93 have Les Gones failed to score in their opening three Ligue 1 matches of a single campaign, and fans may well be worried of suffering a similarly disastrous start to last season that saw both Laurent Blanc and Fabio Grosso lose their jobs before December.[/p]
[p]Pierre Sage steadied the ship, and he’ll be confident his team can open their account by beating Strasbourg, who coincidentally lost this fixture 2-1 on the final day of last season. That’s part of a run of just one clean sheet in Lyon’s last 11 league matches, though that’s not stopped Ligue 1’s great entertainers from winning seven times in that sequence (D1, L3), scoring eight goals after the 80th minute in the process. [/p]
[p]Strasbourg have benefited from Hull’s surprising decision to sack Liam Rosenior over the summer, with the Englishman so far unbeaten in his new job (W1, D1). Le Racing impressed by beating Rennes 3-1 last weekend, though hopes of just a second top-half finish in Ligue 1 since promotion may hinge on defensive improvements, as they’ve now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last eight games. [/p]
[p]That appears unlikely to change here though, as Strasbourg have a miserable record away at Lyon in the top-flight (W6, D11, L31). Goals should at least follow, as the only shutouts achieved across the last seven H2Hs came in a 0-0 Coupe de France draw before Lyon won on penalties in February, while the last four victors in this fixture inside 90 minutes have only prevailed by a single goal. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Georges Mikautadze will be looking to shine with Lyon after joining last month from Metz where he directly contributed to 18 goals in 22 matches (G14, A4), with one of those strikes coming against Strasbourg – the only one of his last seven club goals to arrive after the 50th minute. After an encouraging spell on loan from Chelsea last term, Andrey Santos has returned to Strasbourg in impressive fashion, scoring the opener in the 3-1 win over Rennes on Sunday – four of his last five club strikes have been headers.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Strasbourg have received just one first-half yellow card across their last six games. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Alex Bowmer[/i][/p]