Lyon on Wednesday

[S-RED]

reina
masch, agger, carra, insua
kuyt, spearing, lucas, benni
Torres, babel

[red g]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2009/nov/02/champions-league-lyon-liverpool

Claude Puel has problems of his own as Lyon's showdown with Liverpool loomsRafael Benítez might just draw hope from the way Lyon's recent troubles have mounted up - on and off the pitch

Two days before Saturday's derby against St Etienne, the Lyon midfielder Sidney Govou was photographed falling around drunk in a nightclub. On Friday morning the manager, Claude Puel, stripped him of the captaincy. He decided against dropping the player and soon he was to be thankful, for it was Govou who restrained the midfielder Jérémy Toulalan at half-time just as it seemed his furious team-mate was about to attack the manager.

Toulalan, normally a most placid professional, had flown into a rage after Puel ordered him to "keep it simple, stop dribbling" as the players trooped towards the dressing room. "Just because you never knew how to dribble doesn't mean we shouldn't do it!" bawled Toulalan at the manager as Govou held him back. The scene is noteworthy for two reasons: firstly, it is amusing because Puel, a holding midfielder in the Monaco team that Arsène Wenger guided to the French title in 1988, was almost identical to Toulalan as a player. Secondly, it illustrated the pressure caused by the problems with which Lyon are having to cope as they prepare to complete their progress to the next round of the Champions League by pushing Liverpool closer to elimination on Wednesday.

Like Liverpool, Lyon have been bedevilled by injuries this season and will contest Wednesday's tomorrow's game without key players, all in central defence, where Toulalan is having to fill in because of the absence of Jean-Alain Boumsong, Mathieu Bodmer and Cléber Anderson.

It is true that those omissions did not prevent Lyon from winning 2-1 at Anfield two weeks ago, when Liverpool, without Fernando Torres, failed to exploit the improvised nature of Lyon's defence even after the visitors' one conventional centreback, Cris, had to be replaced by a 20-year-old midfielder, Maxime Gonalons. However, Rafael Benítez will draw hope from the fact that modest Ligue 1 sides have in recent weeks shown that Lyon's fragility is real. They have lost two of their last three league games, the most recent defeat a 4-1 humiliation at Nice. Even on Saturday against 17th place St Etienne, whom they ultimately beat 1-0, Lyon were ragged in the first period and could have been behind before substitute Bafétimbi Gomis' second-half winner. No wonder Benítez is so eager for Torres to be fit.

If the home team's travails give hope to Liverpool ahead of Wednesday, they also increase Lyon's motivation to beat Benítez's men. "Our result in the game at Anfield makes it more complicated for us in the sense that Liverpool have to come here and win," said Govou. "But we hope to qualify for the next round as early as possible so that we can manage our schedule more easily before the winter break."

Having to deploy Toulalan in defence is a double-blow for Lyon, since not only does it mean fielding a makeshift central defender who tends to get caught of position – and is not helped by the fact that 32-year-old Cris is clearly on the wane regardless of any injuries – but it also deprives Lyon of the France international's dynamism in midfield. Only intermittently has Jean II Makoun anchored the middle as well as Toulalan normally does. With the exception of the second halves at Liverpool and St Etienne Lyon have often been unable to secure and retain possession in recent weeks. This in turn has meant they have found it hard to harness the creativity and penetrative power of players such as Govou, who tormented Emiliano Insúa at Anfield, the 19-year-old Bosnian schemer Miralem Pjanic and the club's two main summer recruits, the Brazilian winger Michel Bastos and the barnstorming Argentinian striker Lisandro López.

All four of those players were instrumental in the swashbuckling start that Lyon made to the season, notably in the Champions League, where they crushed Anderlecht 8-2 on aggregate in the qualifiers and won 4-0 at Debrecen (though Bastos missed that), the heaviest home defeat in the Hungarian champions' history. Lyon's erratic form of recent weeks, however, has prompted Puel, as his instruction to Toulalan on Saturday showed, to preach a return to pragmatism over panache.

Toulalan himself is not even fully fit – he is still carrying a slight adductor strain. He is one of seven Lyon players to suffer with that complaint already in this campaign, prompting suggestions that Puel's pre-season training regime, which involved cross-country skiing and mountain-bike climbs, may have been too gruelling. Benítez is not the only manager whose methods are coming under scrutiny.

[cream]

There is a hell of a lot riding on this game, I really think Torres and Aquilani will be risked from the start and maybe taken off on 60.

[Marky]

I've a feeling Babel will start.

[Chazza]

LYON LATEST: TORRES FITNESS UPDATE
James Carroll in Lyon 03 November 2009

Rafa Benitez is confident Fernando Torres can avoid the need for an operation as the boss prepares to include the striker in his plans for Wednesday's crunch clash with Lyon.
The Spain international is being eased back into action as he continues to recover from a groin injury - and Benitez insists he will continue to play it safe with the fitness of the Reds' No.9.

"We know Fernando has a problem, and we have to manage it," the boss told his pre-match press conference in France.

"The positive thing is that he is improving, and he is in less pain each time he plays and trains.

"Hopefully if we can continue doing well with him, he will not need an operation - that is our idea.

"Now it is a question of how he feels and what will happen if he plays.

"I talk to the players after every training session and every game. After United, he needed four days to be ready again. After Fulham, he told me he was much better but still feeling something.

"Yesterday he was better still and hopefully tomorrow he will be even better."

Torres was named in the 19-man squad that touched down in Lyon on Tuesday afternoon, and he was joined by Daniel Agger, Alberto Aquilani and David Ngog on the flight from John Lennon airport.

But the Reds are without Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson, Martin Skrtel and Fabio Aurelio for the encounter with Lyon, and Benitez admits the current injury situation has hindered his side's form.

He said: "We have good players but too many injuries. If you think of any of the top sides in the world, if they lose three players who could start, and four or five who could be on the bench, it is not easy."

Asked for the latest on Gerrard's fitness, Benitez replied: "Gerrard has been working with our physios and fitness coach. He was improving, but it is too early. We have to wait two or three days to see his reaction, but he is doing well."

The boss was quizzed on whether Alberto Aquilani could make his first start for the Reds at the Stade Gerland.

"We will see how he trains and afterwards we will decide," he said. "We analyse every single player after every training session and then we have a meeting. But now is too early."

The Spaniard also confirmed the Reds will assess the fitness of Agger after training tonight.

Meanwhile, Benitez believes Liverpool can draw inspiration from past European triumphs as the Reds go in search of another famous win in France.

Liverpool head into Wednesday's fixture at the Stade Gerland having amassed just three points from their opening three fixtures in Group E, while Lyon have a 100 per cent record in the competition.

However, Benitez cited the Reds' 2007-08 Champions League campaign as proof his charges' European aspirations are far from over.

Liverpool had collected just one point at this stage of the competition two years ago, but comprehensive victories over Besiktas, Porto and Marseille saw them progress into the last 16 of the tournament.

"We have been talking about this. We have some experience and we know it is difficult, but you always have to have the belief you can do it because we have done it in the past," he said.

"We have a lot of respect for Lyon because they are a good team, but we have to try to do our job and win.

"At a top side, every game is important. We will try to do our best, but we can't do anything other than be ready.

"We have a lot of very good memories here in France, and it will be a massive achievement for us if we can win.

"We have experience of winning in the last games when we needed to, so it is important to have the spirit and belief we can do it and take confidence from these very good memories."

He added: "Our fans are very clever. Sometimes you have bad moments, but they know we are working very hard to try and change things.

"We will try to win and we know that when you walk through a storm, hold your head up high - and we will try to hold our heads up high."

[URL="http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N166320091103-1859.htm"]

[kev776]

Isn't he struggling with a pie injury?

Steak and kidney or meat and tatty.

[DannyMan2006]

Steak and kidney or meat and tatty.

[Marky]

We're gonna get bummed aren't we?

[DannyMan2006]

We're gonna get bummed aren't we?

After Fulham and on Sunday I was thinking the same. Then I actually looked at the squad we have sent over and have had another think. The squad we have available is actually pretty damn strong.

Then after reading the Guardian article and seeing all the woes they are currently under it has made me even more confident.

If Liverpool play well and don't concede silly goals we will win. We are a better team than Lyon and in normal circumstances we would at the very least expect a draw.

But we need to win tomorrow and I think we have enough quality and desire to pull it off.

[Marky]

After Fulham and on Sunday I was thinking the same. Then I actually looked at the squad we have sent over and have had another think. The squad we have available is actually pretty damn strong.

Then after reading the Guardian article and seeing all the woes they are currently under it has made me even more confident.

If Liverpool play well and don't concede silly goals we will win. We are a better team than Lyon and in normal circumstances we would at the very least expect a draw.

But we need to win tomorrow and I think we have enough quality and desire to pull it off.

Hopefully the lads can muster a big performance. With Torres in the side we always have a chance, we need to give him plenty of service though.
Kuyt is due a good game, you'd always fancy him to score in a European match.
It's backs to the wall stuff, ready to fight.

[DannyMan2006]

Hopefully the lads can muster a big performance. With Torres in the side we always have a chance, we need to give him plenty of service though.
Kuyt is due a good game, you'd always fancy him to score in a European match.
It's backs to the wall stuff, ready to fight.

We'll always get a chance to score playing against a team like Lyon who lack their first choice central defenders. I am confident we will score in France.

It is the defence that worries me. I now your thinkings towards Insua, but it looks like he and Darby will start tonight - They need to be immense. Lyon are a team that loves attacking down the wings and it is how they create most their goals.

If we play like we did against Fulham we will get shredded. But play like we did against Man Utd and we will win with ease.

Put simply, it's in our own hands. And if we beat Lyon it puts the pressure on them to get a result against Fiorintina, even a draw could see them fielding a strong team against the Italians.

[Baracus]

We're gonna get bummed aren't we?

and pumped at the same time

[Baracus]

After Fulham and on Sunday I was thinking the same. Then I actually looked at the squad we have sent over and have had another think. The squad we have available is actually pretty damn strong.

Then after reading the Guardian article and seeing all the woes they are currently under it has made me even more confident.

If Liverpool play well and don't concede silly goals we will win. We are a better team than Lyon and in normal circumstances we would at the very least expect a draw.

But we need to win tomorrow and I think we have enough quality and desire to pull it off.

What really bugs me about the fulham game is that we made just 3 changes to the team that beat Utd well.

Can one change in attack really change the outlook of our team? By that I mean playing voronin. That caused us to shift Benayoun to the left and play Voronin through the middle. It would have been far more astute for Rafa to play Babel on the left and Benayoun through the middle. This small change in personal imo caused us to be so lacklustre up front. This is what I am hoping happens against Lyon.

[DannyMan2006]

What really bugs me about the fulham game is that we made just 3 changes to the team that beat Utd well.

Can one change in attack really change the outlook of our team? By that I mean playing voronin. That caused us to shift Benayoun to the left and play Voronin through the middle. It would have been far more astute for Rafa to play Babel on the left and Benayoun through the middle. This small change in personal imo caused us to be so lacklustre up front. This is what I am hoping happens against Lyon.

Against Man Utd Kuyt played behind Torres and Yossi played on the right, in front of Johnson.

I wouldn't have thought using the same system with degen at RB would have been such a good idea.

But I do agree about Babel on the LW and Yossi off Torres against Fulham, that would have been a better idea in my eyes.

[SB]

Daniel Agger and Alberto Aquilani were included in the Liverpool squad that touched down in Lyon this afternoon - but Glen Johnson and Fabio Aurelio were both left behind on Merseyside.
The Reds' 19-man squad landed at Lyon airport shortly after 1pm local time boosted by the presence of Agger and Aquilani, as well as David Ngog.

However, Johnson and Aurelio look set to miss Wednesday's crunch Champions League clash with Les Gones after failing to recover from calf injuries in time.

Youngsters Daniel Ayala, Stephen Darby, Jay Spearing and Damien Plessis have travelled to France.

Liverpool squad: Reina, Cavalieri, Carragher, Ayala, Darby, Insua, Agger, Kyrgiakos, Kuyt, Lucas, Benayoun, Aquilani, Babel, Mascherano, Spearing, Plessis, Ngog, Voronin, Torres.


Stay tuned to Liverpoolfc.tv for all the latest news from Lyon.


My tip

Reina
Carra
Agger
The greek
Insua
Kuyt
Masher
Lucas
Babel
Benny
Ngog

subs
aqua
torres
Voronin
etc etc