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Bottom-of-the-table Sunday's Ligue 1 match between Lyon and Lorient is played at the Groupama Stadium.
The home team has lost its last two games in the league, while the away team hasn't claimed a victory since beating Lille in the third gameweek.
After seven gameweeks, Lyon's 2-0 defeat at Reims last weekend left Fabio Grosso's team in last place in the standings.
Since August, Les Gones have failed to earn all possible points, earning just two of the 21 available, which has resulted in Laurent Blanc's departure.
This resulted in Marcelino stepping down from his position in late September, but the arrival of Gattuso hasn't brought about an immediate transformation in their performance – the team, known as the Olympians, is yet to secure a victory under the Italian's leadership. On Thursday night, Gattuso, the former AC Milan and Napoli boss, came close to securing a win in the Europa League, but Brighton & Hove Albion managed to recover from being two goals behind and held them to a 2-2 draw.
Gattuso's team had two separate leads against Monaco in their seventh-round match (1-0 and 2-1), only to lose 3-2 after giving up both advantages, exposing their vulnerability. While Marseille is demonstrating their scoring potential under the new management, they need to shore up their defense to protect leads if they aim to turn the corner.
As for the newcomers, Le Havre, their return to Ligue 1 after a 14-year absence has been satisfactory after seven games, with only two losses suffered under the guidance of Luka Elsner. The most recent of these defeats occurred last weekend, a 2-0 loss at home to Lille, which marked the end of a four-game unbeaten streak for the Dean Club.
Le Havre has secured two victories in Ligue 1 this season, both of them at Stade Oceane. However, they have yet to experience a defeat in their away matches, having played out three consecutive draws on the road. This statistic theoretically gives Elsner's team a much-needed boost in confidence in their prospects, especially considering that the home side, under Gattuso, appears to have defensive vulnerabilities and recently participated in European competitions.
Whether this will lead to Le Havre achieving their first-ever victory against Marseille remains uncertain, but it's possible for them to secure at least a point and put an end to their six-game losing streak in all competitions against the Olympiens.
Lorient has a golden opportunity to add to Lyon's woes, although Lyon's recent form on the road is equally disheartening. Regis Le Bris's team has suffered defeats in their last two matches, mirroring the home side's results, with three losses in four games.
In terms of goal-scoring, Les Merlus have a better record compared to Lyon, having scored 10 goals as opposed to Les Gones' three. This gives Le Bris and his team a much-needed confidence boost heading into Sunday's clash.
Despite a commendable draw against Ligue 1 favorites Paris Saint-Germain on August 12, Lorient's away record only boasts one point, which somewhat dampens their enthusiasm. The outcome of Sunday's game remains uncertain, but preventing Lyon from closing the four-point gap in the table could be a significant motivator for the away side.
Lorient faces several injury concerns ahead of Sunday's match, with Bonke Innocent, Formose Mendy, Quentin Boisgard, and Ayman Kari all doubtful for the upcoming Lyon encounter. Tiemoue Bakayoko and Aiyegun Tosin are unlikely to make an appearance, even though they might return later this month. On the other hand, Dejan Lovren is sidelined due to a thigh injury, while Paul Akouokou and Mama Balde's availability for Sunday's game is uncertain, with the latter being touch-and-go. However, Alexandre Lacazette is expected to return to the lineup after missing the previous week's match.
Recent matches between these teams have yielded varied results. In their last six encounters, Lyon has won two, Lorient has won one, and three matches have ended in draws. Notably, Lorient hasn't won at Lyon since April 2017, when they convincingly defeated their hosts 1-4. However, they haven't suffered a defeat there since May 2021.
Lyon has struggled to secure a victory this season, with their only points coming from two goalless draws. Their poor performance led to the dismissal of their manager, Laurent Blanc, last month. On the other hand, Lorient managed to secure a win earlier in the season on August 27 but has since lost three out of four games, including a 0-3 defeat to Montpellier last weekend.
Despite Lyon having fewer points than their upcoming opponents, they still possess one of the stronger squads in Ligue 1 on paper. Players like Rayan Cherki and Alexandre Lacazette have the ability to score goals. However, Lyon's goal-scoring record has been less than impressive, having scored just three goals so far.
A team that has scored just three goals in seven games and given up 13 must turn things around under Grosso.
The seven-time Ligue 1 champions haven't scored since the Italian took over, drawing 0-0 with Le Havre and losing 1-0 and 2-0 to Brest and Reims, respectively. They need to score goals somewhere to move up the standings.
The underlying statistics indicate that Lyon should have scored more goals; they had nine excellent chances and an expected goal total (xG) of 7.0; however, it remains to be seen whether their luck will change this weekend.
Our first prediction for Lyon vs. Lorient is Lorient at EVENS with Bet9ja or Draw. The home team is clearly favored in the Lyon vs. Lorient odds, but Lyon hasn't had much success playing at the Groupama Stadium.
Lyon's campaign has gotten off to a truly terrible start. They have lost all seven of their games thus far, and Laurent Blanc, who was hired in the middle of the previous season, has already paid the price with his job.
Since then, the Italian defender who won the World Cup has been hired, but the outcomes have not yet improved. With him in charge, they have lost both games and failed to score in both of them.
