Lyon vs PSG: Champions Should Prove Too Strong

• PSG are the overwhelming favorites to win the Ligue 1 title once again this season
• Lyon are striving to finish in the top three and qualify for the Champions League
• PSG should prove too strong for Lyon when they go head-to-head this weekend

Lyon vs PSG Odds

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Lyon vs PSG Pick

The French champions are by far and away the strongest side in Ligue 1 and they should bring their superiority to bear at the Groupama Stadium.

Back PSG to be beating Lyon at half-time (-104)

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A Matter of Time Before PSG Pull Clear at Top of Ligue 1 Table

After seven rounds of fixtures, Paris Saint-Germain are yet to open up a significant lead at the summit of the Ligue 1 standings. That is testament to the strong starts made by several other sides in France’s top flight. Marseille have matched PSG by winning six and drawing one of their first seven matches, with Igor Tudor making an instant impact after his appointment in the summer. Lens are also unbeaten, with 17 points to their name from a possible 21. Lorient are a point further back in fourth.

Lyon were also matching PSG stride for stride until recently, although they have since slipped back a little – more on that later. Yet while Christophe Galtier’s side are top on goal difference alone, it is surely a matter of time before there is more space between the reigning champions and the chasing pack. PSG won the Ligue 1 title by a margin of 15 points last term and a similar gap after 38 matches is a distinct possibility this time around.

Galtier will be pretty content with the way his tenure at the Parc des Princes has begun. PSG’s apparent abandonment of their galactico recruitment model has no doubt helped. It seems like the Qatari ownership has finally learnt that signing multiple superstars is not necessarily a recipe for success in soccer, at least not at the very highest level (PSG are still waiting for their maiden Champions League triumph).

Galtier knows what it takes to win the Ligue 1 title, having done so in magnificent fashion with Lille in 2020/21. He appears to have earned the respect of the locker room’s biggest personalities, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe. That front three has the quality to regularly blow domestic opponents away, but Galtier knows as well as anyone that he will be primarily judged on how PSG fare in European competition.

Back-To-Back Defeats Offer Wake-up Call to Lyon and Peter Bosz

As mentioned above, Lyon were flying high towards the top of Ligue 1 after winning four of their first five matches, but back-to-back defeats have seen them drop to fifth ahead of this weekend’s tricky test against the champions. Peter Bosz’s side first fell to a 3-1 loss to Lorient, before going down 2-1 to Monaco last time out. It was a tight game at the Stade Louis II, but Lyon were less effective in both boxes and that ultimately cost them.

This is Bosz’s second season at the helm at the Groupama Stadium. His first was characterized by wild inconsistency as Lyon veered from highs to lows with alarming regularity. There were moments to cherish: the 6-1 thrashing of Bordeaux stands out, while Lyon almost beat PSG in this fixture last term. But their longest winning run stood at three games, and that happened just once.

Lyon ultimately finished eighth. Just two teams scored more goals than Bosz’s, but their defensive record was only the 11th best in the division.

The early signs from this season suggest Lyon remain a work in progress under their Dutch manager, and while they have little trouble finding the back of the net, clean sheets continue to elude them: their opponents have scored in six of their seven matches to date.

PSG Can Demonstrate Superiority at the Groupama Stadium

If Lyon are unable to keep things tight at the back against PSG, it will be a recipe for disaster. There invariably seems to be some degree of tension between Mbappe, Neymar and Messi – perhaps that is only natural given they are three of the most high-profile players on the planet – but so far PSG’s front three has produced the goods on the pitch. The trio has already scored 18 goals in Ligue 1, more than Lyon and every other team in the division.

Bosz’s side will therefore need to remain disciplined and diligent defensively if they are to get anything from this game, but their manager’s attack-minded mindset could leave Lyon’s backline exposed. In some ways it is admirable that Bosz strives to win every match he manages, but a dose of pragmatism from time to time would serve his team well.

Despite their flaws, Lyon are one of the few teams in France capable of matching PSG when they are on song. However, we expect Galtier’s side to prove too strong on Sunday. Lyon have conceded in the first half in more than 50 percent of their matches in 2022/23, and we anticipate PSG to be winning at the interval here.

How to Watch Lyon vs PSG