Olympique Lyonnais travel to Stade de Reims on Sunday evening in a match that will have consequences at both ends of the table.
When: 8.00 pm GMT, 26 April 2015
Where: Stade Auguste Delaune, Reims
Watch live: Click here to watch on Canal+ online!
The pressure is on OL.
Paris Saint-Germain’s crushing victory over LOSC Lille on Saturday saw Laurent Blanc’s side move to the top of the Ligue 1 table and the reigning champions have the wind in their sails as they look to retain their French title.
Heading into Sunday’s fixture, both PSG and Lyon have played 33 matches, but Blanc’s side hold a three-point lead over their title rivals.
OL have seen their own form slip in recent weeks—they suffered a shock defeat at home against OGC Nice, while they failed to beat Olympique de Marseille at the Stade Velodrome .
While Hubert Fournier’s side deserve credit for securing a draw against in-form Saint-Etienne having been a goal and a man down, the relentless form of their rivals means that they cannot afford to drop two points at home at such a late stage of the season.
OL will be without several key players for their trip to the Stade Auguste Delaune.
Milan Bisevac is a long-term absentee, while it remains to be seen if playmaker Yoann Gourcuff will play any further part in this campaign.
Lindsay Rose will miss out due to suspension, while Mouhamadou Dabo is another likely absentee. The former’s absence means that Samuel Umtiti will likely be partnered by Burkinabe defender Bakay Kone.
Reims can boast almost a complete compliment of players, with Franck Signorino the only absentee.
Having beaten SC Bastia last weekend, Reims will be looking to avoid defeat, but they will be under pressure—two of their relegation rivals—Lorient and Bastia—have won already this weekend, while Toulouse also picked up points.
Heading into Sunday’s match, Reims are only one point ahead of the drop zone and with games running out, can ill afford to haemorrhage any more points.