Monaco v Lyon: Europa chase meets top-half push | OneFootball

Monaco face Lyon in Ligue 1 at the Stade Louis-II on Saturday, with the hosts looking to climb from ninth and the visitors aiming to consolidate fifth.

Monaco, ninth on 23 points, host Lyon, fifth on 27. Les Rouge et Blanc did the double over their visitors last season and also beat Paris Saint-Germain at home in November, but the focus now is league momentum.

Les Rouge et Blanc have three wins in their last five across competitions, though their two most recent league games were narrow defeats. Les Gones have won four of their last five, including victories over Nantes and Le Havre, plus a 6-0 success away in Europe.

Les Rouge et Blanc are without Takumi Minamino and Ansu Fati, while Denis Zakaria is suspended for this match. Les Gones list Nicolás Tagliafico, Ernest Nuamah and Malick Fofana as injured.

Defensively, Les Gones have conceded only 16 league goals and kept nine clean sheets. Les Rouge et Blanc have scored 26 and conceded 27, with just two clean sheets. Folarin Balogun and Maghnes Akliouche could test that tighter back line, while Pavel Šulc leads Les Gones with six league goals and Afonso Moreira has supplied four assists (per the league rankings).

A win would move Les Rouge et Blanc to 26 points and could pull them closer to the European places. Victory would take Les Gones to 30 points, which may strengthen their Europa League standing and keep them in touch with the Champions League spots.