Lyon and Marseille will be battling it out for top spot in the League on Sunday night. If they win at Gerland, OM will take first place in the League from their opponents.

The matcch between Lyon and Marseille doesn’t (yet) have a nicknam. It is not a « clasico ». Even less so a « derby ». But over the course of recent history it has become a match at the summit. Undoubtedly. This Sunday’s game is even more so. Never have Lyon felt OM’s breath so closely on their necks. Another good performance from Marseille at Gerland would see them knock OL from their perch at the top of the League. They would even then have all the cards in their hands regarding the title of « Autumn Champions ». Honorary? Yes, but it would also send out a message to the rest of the League before the end of the year festivities. Why ? Because since 2005, Lyon have always started the new year with a strong lead over their opponents.
For the time being, Claude Puel’ players have a 3 point lead over their visitors. « A luxury  », stated Erik Gerets. He xplains it through the points dropped by OM through «  collective mistakes ». « Without which he believes we would be on top  », claims the OM manager.
Maintaining this gap would be a good performance for them. To do so they need to draw. But in what frame of mind do OM arrive in Lyon? Gerets: « When you go to Lyon, your first intention is to not lose. But if we feel that we can get more from the game by taking risks, then we will take the necessary risks, without being suicidal. The way the match goes will let us know if we need to attack or to defend  ».

This OL-OM turns around two central questions. The value of the 2008/09 Lyon side. And the capacity OM have of dealing with the absence of Niang.
Less dashing in the League (but as good as ever in the Champions League), Are Lyon not « as strong » as they have been in the past? « Nn. They are very strong  », states Ben Arfa without a moments hesitation, he who is ideally placed to reply to the question. « Against Nantes, Juninho and Benzema, two integral parts of the side, were missing. Against Bayern, they got back to 2-3, without Juninho, and they in fact deserved to win. They have made it through to the last 16 of the Champions League, they want to make the quarter-finals and are looking to take another national title,… It’s going to be very difficult  », he admits, even if he states that his confidence going into the game has not been altered in any way.
The other sticking point is the OM attack. They have not managed to score since Niang came off injured, in other words, for 120 minutes. Will they be able to do so against the best defence in France? « I have the utmost faith in my forwards. I’m sure that we will score a goal against Lyon  », assures Erik Gerets. I don’t know if it will be sufficient but I’m convinced that we will be dangerous ansd that there will be opportunities to score  ».

Laurent Oreggia (avec F.R.)