My Coupe runneth over: League Cup Final! Preview!

By: Sam | March 30th, 2007

As Bob reported yesterday, League Cups could be on their way to getting a little more attention in years to come. This sets the stage for the grand finale of the Who Cares Cup, aka la Coupe de la Ligue. Pitting the top two finishers from last year, it will make for a more interesting (we hope) match than last year’s, which featured Nancy and Nice. Indeedyroody, la finale de cette année met en vedette l’Olympique Lyonnais et les Girondins de Bordeaux. Always by your side, I am here to give you a very official-looking rundown of what both sides look like going into the match, to be played at the formidable Stade de France.

How they got there
Lyon: PSG (2-1), Nancy (3-1), Le Mans (1-0)
Bordeaux: Auxerre (1-0), Saint-Étienne (1-0 aet), Reims (2-1)

How they’re doing in Ligue 1
Lyon: 1st place, 65 points, 20-5-4
Bordeaux: 3rd place, 44 points, 13-5-11

How they’ve done against each other this season
20/08/2006: Bordeaux 1-2 Lyon
24/01/2007: Lyon 1-2 Bordeaux

How they’ve done against each other in Coupe de la Ligue
29/01/2000: Lyon 1-0 Bordeaux (Round of 16)
08/01/2002: Bordeaux 1-1 (4-2 pso) Lyon (Round of 16)

Lyon squad
Keepers: Coupet, Vercoutre, Hartock, Bouchard
Defenders: Clerc, Réveillère, Cris, Squilacci, Müller, Caçapa, Abidal, Berthod
Midfielders: Toulalan, Diarra, Fabio Santos, Tiago, Juninho, Källström, Malouda, Govou, Wiltord, Ben Arfa
Forwards: Fred, Benzema, Baros, Rémy, Bettiol

Bordeaux squad
Keepers: Ramé, Valverde
Defenders: Faubert, Henrique, Jemmali, Jurietti, Marange, Planus
Midfielders: Alonso, Fernando, Mavuba, Francia, Micoud, Smicer, Wendel
Forwards: Cavenaghi, Darcheville, Chamakh, Jussiê, Obertan

Who will win?
Lyon, that’s who. Sounds obvious, but it isn’t. My prediction: 2-1.