Olympique Lyonnais and Schalke have both started their domestic campaigns in a highly disappointing fashion, despite ending last term as runners-up in their respective competitions, and approach that Champions League with some degree of trepidation.
For much of last term, OL toiled in Ligue 1 compared to their usual high standards. Vast summer investment failed to pay off domestically as Olympique de Marseille claimed the title, leaving Claude Puel’s side to make a late rally for second. Indeed, had it not been for les Gones’ strong performance in Europe, the former Lille and Monaco boss would have been under intense pressure to relinquish his position at the helm of the Rhone Valley side, and he already finds himself in a similar position this term.
One win in five Championnat matches has left Lyon seven points off the pace of surprise leaders Toulouse, yet there appears to have been little in the way of improvement from Lyon in the opening weeks of the season. At the weekend they grabbed the lead against Valenciennes thanks to youngster Jeremy Pied, but the visitors hit back after the break, consigning OL to another frustrating Saturday evening.
“Things just aren’t quite falling for us just now because we haven’t been that bad,” Jeremy Toulalan lamented to the media after the weekend’s setback.
“There's frustration but we must not lower our heads,” Puel indicated. “We will play every three or four days and that’s not bad.”
So often Lyon have raised themselves for the big European nights at Stade Gerland in recent seasons, and they will have to do just that if they are to strike a positive early blow towards progression in a tight looking group.
Lacking Harmony
If Lyon’s start to their Ligue 1 campaign has been mediocre, Schalke’s assault on the Bundesliga has been nothing short of catastrophic thus far as they have crumbled to three defeats in their opening three matches.
Hoffenheim were the latest side to take three points from die Koenigsblauen, claiming a 2-0 success on Friday evening. With a host of new faces introduced to the side over the summer months, it is little surprise that Felix Magath’s side have slipped in the early weeks of the season, though the sheer magnitude of their problems hadn’t been anticipated.
“We lacked the harmony on the pitch,” the coach explained after his side’s away loss, before trying to draw what few positives there were from the game. “Overall I am satisfied with the performance and the attitude of my team. The performance was an improvement over Hannover and Hamburg.”
It’s been three seasons since Schalke last graced the Champions League proper with their presence, and in 2007-08 they even managed to reach the quarter-finals after negotiating a group that involved Chelsea, Valencia and Rosenborg, only to succumb against Barcelona.
With names such as Raul and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar involved this season, the Bundesliga outfit have the billing to reach the knockout stages, but whether they have the cohesion is a whole other matter.
TEAM NEWS
Lyon
OL have been plagued with hamstring issues over the course of August, and many of these have yet to clear. Cris, who would have been banned from this match in any case, is one of those players suffering, while fellow defender Aly Cissokho won’t return in time to feature either. There have been some concerns voiced over Ederson’s career after he completely ruptured the muscle playing for Brazil earlier this season, and he will at least be missing until well into 2011.
Several first team players were benched at the weekend, giving them a useful breather before Tuesday’s big game.
Probable Starting XI: Lloris; Reveillere, Lovren, Diahkate, Kolodziejczak; Toulalan, Makoun; Briand, Gourcuff, Michel Bastos; Lisandro
Schalke
Due to Felix Magath’s tendency to rotate his side and formation, it’s difficult to predict exactly how Schalke will start, though what’s certain is that a groin problem keeps Christoph Metzelder out of action.
He joins a number of squad players on the sidelines, while the other big injury issue is 22-year-old right wing-back Atsuto Uchida, who has a broken toe.
Probable Starting XI: Neuer; Sarpei, Plestan, Hoewedes, Schmitz; Jones, Matip; Farfan, Raul, Rakitic - Huntelaar
Prediction
Both teams are capable of far better than they’ve shown domestically, but Schalke seem to be toiling that bit more than Lyon, who will also be buoyed by their home support. The French team should therefore be seen as favourites to get their Champions League campaign off to a positive start, but their erratic nature means that nothing is guaranteed.
O. Lyon 2-1 Schalke 04 
