The season so far, the stats, the players to watch, all you need to know about OM's next opponent.

After having won the title seven times in a row, the question everyone is asking about Lyon this year is: Will there be an eigth title of French champions in May 2009?
Even if nothing is certain, Lyon’s first place in the table would lean towards a positive response. This season, the rhythm is very much the same as last year (after 17 matches Lyon are three points ahead of OM; last season they were 4 ahead of Nancy) the main difference would seem to be that the number of direct opponents has multiplied and that they are much stronger this time around (OM, Rennes, Bordeaux, maybe even Paris).
As far as Lyon are concerned, the main change of the inter-season was the arrival of Claude Puel as manager in place of Alain Perrin. The workings in the transfer market brought in a certain amount of youth (Lloris, Ederson, Pjanic) and ,like every year, experienced L1 players (Makoun, Piquionne).  
On the pitch, their start to the season was, once again, just about perfect (six victories from the first seven matches) but things got a little more difficult afterwards. With a growing number of players in the treatment room (Réveillère, Bodmer, Pjanic), OL come into this game on the back of two defeats and a draw in the League. Qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, they can however still count on their explosive duo of Juninho and Benzema. An eye will have to be kept on those two, obviously.