Soccer France Ligue 1 Prediction

Lyon vs Reims - Match Preview

⚽ 27 May 2023 - 19:00 GMT +0

Lyon’s 3-1 win over Monaco means they need to overhaul a four-point deficit if they’re to qualify for Europe by overtaking both Lille and Rennes. Manager Laurent Blanc was nevertheless full of praise for his players after that win, saying they “produced a lot of quality play,” and they now just need a point to guarantee to improve on last season’s eighth-place finish in Ligue 1.

Les Gones have certainly treated their fans to some rich entertainment in recent weeks, with an average of five goals per game across their last four home league fixtures (W3, L1)! As all three of those wins came after they were trailing at some point, most impressively beating Montpellier 5-4 from 4-1 down, you can never seemingly count the seven-time Ligue 1 champion out.

Reims have faced the opposite problem of late, as they scored first in each of their last two fixtures but failed to win either (D1, L1), and they’re now heading for a mid-table finish having won just one of their last seven games (D2, L4). Although their European qualification hopes are now dashed, one target they can aim for is a first top-half finish in a completed Ligue 1 season since 2018/19.

But Reims have struggled on the road towards the end of the season, as losing three straight Ligue 1 away games raises the possibility of them losing four in a row on the road in the top flight for the first time since they finished the 2015/16 campaign with just such a run! But there is hope for them because they beat Lyon here 2-1 last term thanks to an injury-time winner.

📋 Players to watch: Maxence Caqueret has scored the third goal of the game in two of Lyon’s last four fixtures, both of which they subsequently won. Quicker off the mark, Junya Ito’s last two strikes for Reims opened the scoring within the first ten minutes.

⚡ Hot streak: Blanc has never lost a managerial H2H against Reims (W4, D2).