Monaco will look to keep their Champions League hopes alive when they welcome a Lyon side who now appear to be out of the race to the Stade Louis II in Ligue 1 on Saturday night.
With just two games to go, Lyon look like they have given themselves too much to do in the race for the top four, while Monaco remain in the driving seat heading into the weekend.
Match preview
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A pivotal 3-1 win away to Saint-Etienne last weekend means Monaco remain fancied to finish in the top four and secure Champions League qualification again next season.
The pressure had been heaped on Monaco, after they saw Nice and Strasbourg win earlier in the weekend to leapfrog them, but after getting the job done themselves, it was also a bonus to see Lille and Marseille take points off each other on the Sunday night.
Adi Hutter‘s men are sat in third, which would also see them avoid the dreaded qualifying playoff round, and advance them straight through to the league phase next season.
It is devilishly difficult to call though, because just two points separate the teams placed between second and sixth, with all five clubs currently in good form.
Monaco have held up their end of the bargain, losing just one of their last nine games, and after taking all three points on the road a week ago, they now return to the principality, where they have also been very strong.
Along with Strasbourg, Monaco are the only other Ligue 1 club still unbeaten on home soil in 2025, and they have been difficult to break down of late, because a clean sheet here could see them record three successive home shutouts for the first time in over three years.
However, no team has beaten Monaco more often in Ligue 1 than Lyon have (44), and the visitors will be keen to make amends for a disastrous couple of weeks that may have ended their season.
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After the infamous collapse at Old Trafford, Lyon were then beaten in the Derby Rhone-Alpes against Saint-Etienne, and they suffered a defeat at home to Lens a week ago.
Paulo Fonseca‘s men beat Rennes handsomely to make up for that derby-day defeat, but last week’s slip-up at home may have put paid to any lingering hopes they had of finishing in the top four.
Lyon sit seventh, and with just two games remaining, they are three points off the top four, needing favours off other clubs and two wins of their own just to have any chance.
Opta’s predictor gives OL a mere 5.8% of finishing in the top four, meaning it is likely they are going to miss out on Champions League football for the sixth successive season – a remarkable statistic when it is taken into consideration they only missed out on UCL qualification three times between 1999 and 2019.
Lyon are guaranteed to finish in the top seven, so if Paris Saint-Germain win the Coupe de France, a Conference League place at worst will await them next season, but they will be seeking wins over both Monaco next up and Angers next week, while praying for results elsewhere to go their way.
Team News
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Monaco will have midfielder Lamine Camara available again after he sat out the win at Saint-Etienne last weekend due to suspension.
However, Camara’s place in the starting XI may not be guaranteed, especially after the impact Al Musrati made off the bench at the Geoffroy-Guichard a week ago, scoring the goal that put Hutter’s men back in front midway through the second half.
Mika Biereth could be a huge miss for the hosts though, after he was forced off inside 15 minutes, and the Dane could be joined on the sidelines by captain Thilo Kehrer, who was not involved at all last week, and Aleksandr Golovin, who is out with a groin strain.
Lyon will be able to call upon Alexandre Lacazette after he served a one-game ban last week, but he will do well to take the place of Georges Mikautadze in the XI, as the Georgian has netted in back-to-back games, taking his tally over the past 12 matches for club and country to 11 goals, on top of eight assists.
That will also most likely restrict the opportunities for 17-year-old Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez, but the England youth international will still be delighted after making his senior debut off the bench a week ago.
The only injury concern for Lyon involves Ernest Nuamah, who will miss the rest of 2025 after tearing his ACL earlier this year.
Monaco possible starting lineup:
Kohn; Teze, Singo, Mawissa, Caio Henrique; Akliouche, Camara, Zakaria, Minamino; Balogun, Embolo
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lucas Perri; Maitland-Niles, Clinton Mata, Niakhate, Tagliafico; Matic, Tolisso; Cherki, Almada, Fofana; Mikautadze
We say: Monaco 1-1 Lyon
Monaco are certainly the favourites after Lyon’s recent drop off in form, but the visitors still have plenty of quality to cause the hosts problems in this one.
A draw may do little to help both sides, but given that there is not much to separate the sides on paper, that looks a likely outcome here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
