Lyon is due to face Marseille in the first Derby des Olympiques of the campaign in Ligue 1 on Sunday evening.
The visitors have started brightly since the appointment of Roberto De Zerbi, while Lyon are languishing in the lower half as they did at the beginning of the last season.
originally a friendly local derby with no ill ‘feeling of rivalry’ associated this is a game that has gotten bad blood in the last few years and that is why no marseille supporter will set foot in the stand.
Marseille’s Dimitri Payet and former Lyon boss Fabio Grosso have both been hit with objects in matches in the last two years that forced halting of the match and being moved to a date behind closed doors.
What that translates to is there will be no Marseille fans here to witness whether the side is capable of posting back to back victories in the Groupama Stadium after the 17 match winning streak in Lyon the previous season.
Malo Gusto’s comical own goal in the dying stages made it 2-1 to OM thanks to which the team did not leave the city empty handed as they had done many times before, however, they come into this game as clear favourites despite having general overall record.
They are favourites due to the fact they reported to the start of the new season as fourth year in a row four games undefeated after a 2-1 win over Nice last Sunday.
A draw could have taken them as high as second if not for a PSG team to have begun the season with a 100% record; however, the Parisian giants will be competing in the European competitions all season long unlike the OM.
This, of course, is the same as with the De Zerbi’s teams, the mantra was based on the attack, and Marseille actively demonstrated it with 12 goals scored in the first four meetings of the season.
The objective will not only be to finish in the top three, but to challenge PSG for the championship and bring significant trophy back to Marseille for the first time in 15 years, and if they can maintain their present form, Le Classique will be an exciting match on October 27.
Lyon has no such hopes this season, since they have already lost their first two games against Monaco and Rennes.
A 4-3 win over Strasbourg and a hard-fought goalless draw with Lens were both positives, giving the team some confidence and points heading into one of the season's most important games.
Slow beginnings are frequently followed by encouraging streaks of play, as Lyon has qualified for Europe four times in a row after taking four points or fewer in their first four games, including last season when they finished sixth.
Despite the shutout against Lens last time out, manager Pierre Sage is concerned about leaking goals, since Lyon have surrendered 15 in their past seven league games at the Groupama Stadium, and Marseille under De Zerbi are surely capable of punishing them for it.
