Coupe de la Ligue Preview: Olympique Lyonnais - Olympique de Marseille
Saturday's showpiece in Coupe de la Ligue sees Les Gones take on Les Phoceens at the Stade de France with Deschamps' men aiming to win the tournament for third time in a row.
By Mohammed Ali
Panoramic
| PROBABLE LINE-UPS |
|
LYON
 Lloris
Reveillere, Lovren, Kone, Cissokho Bastos, Gonalons, Kallstrom, Briand Lisandro, Gomis |
MARSEILLE
 Mandanda Azpilicueta, Nkoulou, Mbia, Morel Diarra, Cheyrou Amalfitano, Valbuena, A.Ayew Brandao |
Lyon boss Remi Garde is without Yoann Gourcuff, Ederson and John Mensah through injury, and the trio have been left out of the party to travel to the capital for the Coupe de la Ligue final.
Club captain Cris revealed earlier this week that he is fit for the showpiece at the Stade de France after initially being ruled out for a month, and the Brazilian is included in the squad. Michel Bastos is expected to return to the starting XI after sitting out the 2-1 win over Auxerre last Saturday.
Olympique de Marseille's Didier Deschamps is able to recall a number of players who were rested in Wednesday's 1-3 defeat to Ligue 1 leader Montpellier.
Cesar Azpilicueta has won his fitness battle and is set to line-up in Paris, with Jeremy Morel, Mathieu Valbuena, Morgan Amalfitano and Andre Ayew all set to be renamed in the starting XI after all being named on the bench on Wednesday.
Striker Loic Remy is still a major doubt with a thigh injury, and strikers Brandao and Andre-Pierre Gignac are ready to deputize for him, with the Brazilian most likely to be used by Deschamps.
With OM suffering 11 defeats in its last 12 games, Saturday represents the last chance for the Provence club to qualify for the Europa League after languishing in ninth place in Ligue 1.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
Olympique Lyonnais sits in fourth place in Ligue 1 after being Auxerre 2-1 last week, courtesy of two Lisandro penalties.- Remi Garde's men beat Lorient 4-2 after extra-time in their semifinal. Jimmy Briand scored in the 94th minute to force an extra 30 minutes in which Bafetimbi Gomis and Alexandre Lacazette added two more to seal a final berth.
- Lyon has won the Coupe de la Ligue for the one and only time in 2001, having finished runner-up in 1996 and 2007 respectively.
- Les Gones are unbeaten against Marseille in their last four encounters.
- Olympique de Marseille occupies ninth place in Ligue 1 after suffering yet another defeat in the 3-1 reverse to league leader Montpellier on Wednesday.
- Marseille has not lost a Coupe de la Ligue match since September 2008, winning the 2010 and 2011 editions of the trophy.
- Didier Deschamps' men are seeking an unprecedented third straight cup victory, and will be the first side to do so if they win on Saturday.
- Loic Remy is the top scorer of the competition with four goals.
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
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O. Lyon 3-1 Marseille
- 23.77 %
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O. Lyon 2-1 Marseille
- 16.39 %
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O. Lyon 1-2 Marseille
- 9.84 %
| Ligue 1 (FRA1) | Mar 10, 2013 | O. Lyon 0 - Marseille 0 |
|
| Ligue 1 (FRA1) | Nov 28, 2012 | Marseille 1 - O. Lyon 4 |
|
| Coupe de la Ligue (FRLC) | Apr 14, 2012 | O. Lyon 0 - Marseille 1 |
|
| Ligue 1 (FRA1) | Feb 5, 2012 | Marseille 2 - O. Lyon 2 |
|
| Ligue 1 (FRA1) | Sep 18, 2011 | O. Lyon 2 - Marseille 0 |
|
O. Lyon
    |
||
| May 19, 2013 | OGC Nice 1 - O. Lyon 1 | FRA1 |
| May 12, 2013 | O. Lyon 0 - PSG 1 | FRA1 |
| May 5, 2013 | AS Nancy-Lorraine 0 - O. Lyon 3 | FRA1 |
| Apr 28, 2013 | O. Lyon 1 - AS Saint-Etienne 1 | FRA1 |
| Apr 19, 2013 | Montpellier HSC 1 - O. Lyon 2 | FRA1 |
Marseille
 |
||
| May 18, 2013 | AS Saint-Etienne 2 - Marseille 0 | FRA1 |
| May 11, 2013 | Marseille 2 - Toulouse FC 1 | FRA1 |
| May 4, 2013 | Marseille 2 - SC Bastia 1 | FRA1 |
| Apr 27, 2013 | FC Lorient 0 - Marseille 1 | FRA1 |
| Apr 20, 2013 | Marseille 1 - Stade Brestois 29 0 | FRA1 |
| 25 | Hugo Lloris | Goalkeeper |
| 5 | Dejan Lovren | Defender |
| 13 | Anthony Réveillère | Defender |
| 14 | Mouhamadou Dabo | Defender |
| 43 | Samuel Umtiti | Defender |
| 6 | Kim Källström | Midfielder |
| 11 | Michel Fernandes Bastos | Midfielder |
| 21 | Maxime Gonalons | Midfielder |
| 9 | Lisandro López | Striker |
| 18 | Bafetimbi Gomis | Striker |
| 19 | Jimmy Briand | Striker |
| 30 | Rémy Vercoutre | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Cris | Defender |
| 14 | Baky | Defender |
| 20 | Aly Cissokho | Defender |
| 7 | Clément Grenier | Midfielder |
| 15 | Gueida Fofana | Midfielder |
| 17 | Alexandre Lacazette | Striker |
| 30 | Steve Mandanda | Goalkeeper |
| 28 | César Azpilicueta | Defender |
| 3 | N. N'Koulou | Defender |
| 24 | Rod Fanni | Defender |
| 23 | Alou Diarra | Midfielder |
| 7 | Benoît Cheyrou | Midfielder |
| 40 | Stéphane M'Bia | Midfielder |
| 19 | Morgan Amalfitano | Midfielder |
| 28 | Mathieu Valbuena | Midfielder |
| 11 | Loïc Remy | Striker |
| 20 | André Ayew | Striker |
| 1 | Gennaro Bracigliano | Goalkeeper |
| 50 | Djimi Traore | Defender |
| 15 | Jérémy Morel | Defender |
| 12 | Charles Kaboré | Midfielder |
| - | Brandao | Striker |
| 10 | André Pierre Gignac | Striker |
| 23 | Jordan Ayew | Striker |
25 
5 
13 
14 
43 
6 
11 
21 
9 
18 
19 
30 
28 
3 
24 
23 
7 
40 
19 
28 
11 
20 
Results
Times In EDT
-
2 - 1Final
-
3(5) - 3(4)Final
-
0(5) - 0(4)Final
-
1 - 2Final
-
2(2) - 2(4)Final
-
3 - 2Final
-
2 - 1Final
-
1 - 2Final
-
0(3) - 0(2)Final
-
1(5) - 1(6)Final
-
3(8) - 3(7)Final
-
1 - 0Final
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Mevlut Erding Striker Rennes |
3 | 0 |
|
Nicolas Haquin Striker Vannes OC |
3 | 0 |
|
|
Romain Alessandrini Midfielder Rennes |
3 | 0 |
|
|
Ibrahima Toure Striker Senegal |
3 | 0 |
|
|
Yannick Carrasco Midfielder AS Monaco |
2 | 2 |
