Lyon v PSG – Lyon’s European push continues despite financial struggles | OneFootball

This Sunday, November 9, Paris Saint-Germain faces Olympique Lyonnais at the Groupama Stadium (kick-off at 8:45 pm, broadcast on Ligue1+) during the 12th matchday of Ligue 1 2025-2026. And as before every match, here is a presentation of PSG’s opponent.

Lyon’s Situation –

Lyon is coming out of a long period of sporting and financial turbulence. Several coaches have come and gone, without fully convincing, until the arrival of Paulo Fonseca in January 2025. With almost a year in charge, it’s practically a long tenure compared to his predecessors. A very particular point is that he has been suspended in France since March and until November 30, so he will not be on the bench due to an altercation with a referee.

On the financial side, Lyon narrowly avoided sanctions last summer and had to fight to avoid administrative relegation. As a result, the transfer window was mostly focused on departures. Nevertheless, there were some good deals, and OL has had a successful start to the season: 6th in Ligue 1 and 7th in the Europa League.

The 2025 Summer Transfer Window –

Source: Transfermarkt.

Departures:

Arrivals:

Main Statistics –

This season, Lyon is among the 10th best attacks in Ligue 1 with 16 goals scored (the leader, Olympique de Marseille, has 25, and the last, Auxerre, has 7), and has the 4th best defense with 12 goals conceded (PSG has the best defense with 9 goals conceded, the last, Metz, has 26).

The top scorer for Lyon is Pavel Sulc (24-year-old attacking midfielder/forward), with 5 goals, ranking 5th in the league (the top scorer in Ligue 1 is Joaquin Panichelli with 9 goals). Ainsley Maitland-Niles (28-year-old right back/midfielder) is the club’s top assist provider with 2 assists, ranking 34th in Ligue 1 (Adrien Thomasson is first with 5 assists).

Lyon’s Last 5 Matches – 1 Match Pending

Only Lyon’s possession is indicated and Lyon’s shots are listed first (when data is available).

23/10/2025 (Europa League) – Lyon/Basel: 2-0. In 4-3-3. 60% possession. 17 shots, 6 on target, versus 11 shots (4 on target).

26/10/2025 (Ligue 1) – Lyon/Strasbourg (down to 10 men in the 67th minute, 1-1): 2-1. In 4-2-3-1. 59% possession. 4 shots, 2 on target, versus 5 shots (2 on target).

29/10/2025 (Ligue 1) – Paris FC (down to 10 in the 67th minute, 1-3)/Lyon (down to 10 in the 61st minute, 0-3): 3-3. In 4-2-3-1. 47% possession. 6 shots, 4 on target, versus 8 shots (3 on target).

02/11/2025 (Ligue 1) – Brest/Lyon (down to 10 in the 8th minute, 0-0): 0-0. In 4-2-3-1. 48% possession. 3 shots, 1 on target, versus 14 shots (3 on target).

06/11/2025 (Europa League) – Best/Lyon: 2-0. In 4-2-3-1. 67% possession. 9 shots, 2 on target, versus 7 shots (4 on target).

The Lyon Squad:

Absent – Abner, Hateboer (suspension), Fofana, Mangala, Nuamah (injury)

Probable Lineup in 4-2-3-1.

Satriano

Moreira – Merah – Ghezzal

Tessmann – Morton

Tagliafico – Nikhate – Mata – Maitland-Niles

Greif

Lyon’s Playing Style.

Rather offensive, Olympique Lyonnais sometimes lacks options, as last season’s strikers (Alexandre Lacazette and Georges Mikautadze) have left without really being replaced due to financial issues. There are some good solutions found in terms of quality of play and a fairly solid defense. The question is whether OL will try to push forward to press PSG or if they will mainly stay deep. In any case, Lyon should look to keep possession at times.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.