CL Preview: Lyon - Fiorentina

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Karim Benzema (Olympique Lyonnais)

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• Fiorentina
• O. Lyon

Lyon Looking To Rumble

The seven time French champions welcome Fiorentina to the Stade Gerland on Wednesday night in what promises to be a cracking game. It will be Lyon’s 75th Champions League tie and they will be hoping to celebrate that milestone and get their group phase up and running with a win against the Italians.

Les Gones will be involved in their ninth successive group stage and thus their experience in the Champions League is far greater than their opponents, however, the French side have never played the Viola and so they will not really know what to expect against Cesare Prandelli’s men.

Lyon will need to be well aware of the Italian threat as they have not managed to win against sides from Serie A in four of their last games against them. During the 2005/06 season, the Ligue 1 side drew and lost to Milan and history repeated itself against Roma a year later as Lyon lost 2-0 at home, many will remember that game for Amatino Mancini’s mesmerising goal.

The first round of Champions League matches always present teams with the unexpected and Lyon will be thrown into the unknown against Fiorentina, who have so far had a mixed start to the Serie A season.

Claude Puel’s men come into this Group F fixture in hot form and full of confidence following their super come back against Nice at the weekend in Ligue 1. Les Gones seemed to be heading towards a 2-0 loss against Nice before a Juninho brace and a Karim Benzema strike sealed maximum points late on.

European form at the Stade Gerland is impressive and thus the French side will take even more confidence and motivation from that.They boast a record which has only seen them lose twice in 23 home games in the Champions League. However, one of those two losses was against Italian opponents.

Fiorentina will need to keep a close eye on Benzema, the young French international ended last season as top-scorer in Ligue 1 and he has already hit five goals this term. He will be looking to continue his prowess up front against La Viola as his side look to register their first European points of the season.

Fiorentina’s Welcome Return

Cesare Prandelli’s hard work and the Della Valle family’s investment, organisation and structure have seen the Tuscan side reach the pinnacle of football once again. Their involvement in the Champions League represents the end of a long and winding road back from bankruptcy in 2002, and the beginning of a new chapter in the Viola’s colourful history.

Football was in a different era the last time Fiorentina were involved in this competition. Rewind back to the 1999/00 season and you get the picture. Batistuta, Rui, Costa, Chiesa and Di Livio amongst others. Household names which will live long in the memory of the club’s glory days.

However, now it’s time to turn a new leaf. Prandelli has guided his side back to where they belong and they did it style too. A sublime run in Serie A saw the Viola push Italian and European Cup experts Milan off the road to Europe’s elite competition. Milan’s poor form had them diverted onto the UEFA Cup slip road while Fiorentina kept their foot on the gas and cruised down and into the Champions League highway.

Slowly but surely the Prandelli project has prospered but this in only the beginning. Constant development and a good strategy has seen the club make huge waves as they continue to go onwards and upwards in search of more glory. The Stadio Artemio Franchi side invested heavily over the summer, getting rid of deadwood and brining in youthful players who share the same hunger and ambition as their coach.

Alberto Gilardino is the name that stands out. The former Milan striker scored against Lyon for the Rossoneri three years ago and he will be eager to get his name back onto the European score sheets. The €14m signing and Adrian Mutu have scored all of Fiorentina’s goals so far this season.

However, they have not yet registered their first win in Serie A after drawing to Juventus in week one and losing 2-1 to Napoli on Sunday. Perhaps their minds were focussed on the game against Lyon this week. Mutu gave his side the lead at the San Paolo before Marek Hamsik and Christian Maggio spoiled the party.

Fiorentina will be keen to make up for their poor domestic start with a win against the French outfit.

Form Guide

Lyon

September 13 Lyon 3-2 Nice (League)

August 31 St Etienne 0-1 Lyon (League)

August 23 Lyon 2-0 Grenoble (League)

August 18 Lorient 0-0 Lyon (League)

August 10 Lyon 3-0 Toulouse

Fiorentna

September 14 Napoli 2-1 Fiorentina (League)

August 31 Fiorentina 1-1 Juventus (League)

August 27 Slavia Prague 0-0 Fiorentina (Champions League Preliminaries)

August 22 AZ Alkmaar 0-2 Fiorentina (Friendly)

August 19 Fiorentina 6-2 Amici Del Forte (Friendly)

Team News

Lyon: The French side have a number of injuries to deal with Fabio Grosso, Francois Clerc, Kader Keita, Joan Hartok and Clement Grenier all unavailable for the visit of Fiorentina. Fred and John Mensah came back from injury at the weekend.

Fiorentina: Alessandro Gamberini is the notable absence and he is still unavailable after he dislocated his shoulder against Cyprus during Italy’s World Cup qualifier against Cyprus ten days ago.

Probable Starting XI

Lyon: Hugo Lloris, Cris, Reveillere, Mensah, Kallstrom, Juninho, Makoun, Bodmer, Ederson, Fred, Mounier.

Fiorentina: Frey, Zauri, Da Costa, Dainelli, Gobbi, Almiron, Donadel, Montolivo, Santana, Gilardino, Mutu.

Players To Watch

Lyon: Karim Benzema will be the dangerman for Lyon. The Frenchman is up and running and in hot form for Les Gones. Has scored five goals in Ligue 1 this term and he will be itching to get off the mark in Europe as well. Pacy, skilful and lethal with both feet, Fiorentina will need to pay close attention to him.

Fiorentina: Adrian Mutu. The Romanian international returned from injury on Sunday and he was outstanding for La Viola. He is in the form of his career and Lyon will need to be wary of his presence on the pitch. He can damage teams in a number of ways and his eye for goal is sublime. He will fire his side to glory if the right Mutu turns up on the night.

Prediction

It will be a tough encounter for both teams but they will be keen to test the waters early on and get their European campaign underway in positive fashion. Both sides are bursting with quality and it will all depend on who has the most hunger and motivation for three points. Lyon have home comforts but Fiorentina will be out to prove their point in France.

Lyon 2-2 Fiorentina

Salvatore Landolina