Ligue 1 in Europe: Bordeaux vs. Lyon

By: Thomas | April 6th, 2010

LyonBordeauxChamakh

Tomorrow at 20:45 CET (2:45 Eastern, 11:45 Pacific) the match to decide the French participant in the UEFA Champions League semifinals will kick off at the Stade Chaban-Delmas (Parc Lescure) in Bordeaux. As you probably know, a brilliant attacking display from Les Gones gave them a 3-1 win in the first leg at the Gerland, thanks to a brace from Lisandro Lopez and a beautiful Michel Bastos strike. Possibly Arsenal bound Morrocan striker Marouane Chamakh grabbed the crucial away goal that keeps Les Girondins in this. Highlights below:

Allright, on to the match at hand…
Lyon: Claude Puel’s side are currently sitting on top of the table after Saturday’s victory over Rennes and are in arguably their best form since the start of the season. Lopez and Bastos are on fire in the final third while the deffence is starting to click. However, their situation with suspensions and injuries is less than optimal. Lisandro Lopez and Sidney Govou are suspended for collecting three yellow cards, meaning that Claude Puel may play a very deffensive minded game with two of his starting attackers out of the mix. In terms of injuries, Anderson and Clerc are out, as has been the case for the enirety of the season, while Jean Makoun picked up a knock on Saturday which causes him to miss out. Dejan Lovren is inelligble, having played for Dinamo Zagreb earlier in the competition. Visit the Lyon Offside for more.

Bordeaux: Are in their worst spell of the season, having lost their grip on first place with a loss against Nancy on the weekend. Despite these challenges, Bordeaux have a chance to progress with a nearly complete squad. Captain Alou Diarra returns from suspension while Marc Planus could be in line for his first match in over a month due to injury. The only absentees with be Fernando Menegazzo and Gregory Sertic, both of whom are injured. Visit the Bordeaux Offside for a more extensive preview.