PSG/Lyon – Profiling Lyon, Europe in sight amid doubts | OneFootball

This Sunday, April 19, Paris Saint-Germain (1st) face Olympique Lyonnais (5th) at the Parc des Princes (kick-off at 8:45 p.m., broadcast on Ligue1+) on matchday 30 of Ligue 1 2025-2026. And as before every match, here is a presentation of PSG’s opponent.

Lyon’s situation –

Lyon are coming off a major period of sporting and financial turbulence. Several coaches came and went without fully convincing, until Paulo Fonseca arrived in January 2025. With almost a year in charge, that is practically a long spell compared to his predecessors. One 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 because of an altercation with a referee.

Financially, Lyon narrowly avoided sanctions last summer and had to fight to avoid administrative relegation. Unsurprisingly, the transfer window was focused more on departures. There were still a few smart moves, and OL are having an interesting season despite some difficult spells: after their start to the season, they sit 5th in Ligue 1, were knocked out in the Coupe de France quarter-finals on penalties by Lens, and were eliminated at the same stage of the Europa League by Celta Vigo. They now need to get things back on track financially in order to move forward again. Qualification for the Champions League would do them a world of good.

The 2025 summer transfer window –

Source: Transfermarkt.

Departures:

Arrivals:

The 2025/2026 winter transfer window –

Source: Transfermarkt.

Departures:

Arrivals:

Key statistics –

This season, Lyon have the 8th-best attack in Ligue 1 with 43 goals scored (leaders PSG have 61, while bottom side Auxerre have 23), and the 3rd-best defense with 29 goals conceded (PSG have the best defense with 23 conceded, while bottom side Metz have 63).

Lyon’s top scorer is Pavel Sulc (a 25-year-old attacking midfielder/forward); with 11 goals, he is 5th in the league (Ligue 1’s top scorer is Esteban Lepaul with 16 goals). Endrick (a 19-year-old striker) is the Lyon club’s top assist provider with 5 assists, ranking 10th in Ligue 1 (Adrien Thomasson is first with 9 assists).

Lyon’s last 5 matches –

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

03/15/2026 (Ligue 1) – Le Havre (down to 10 men in the 55th minute)/Lyon: 0-0. In a 4-3-3. 62% possession. 11 shots, including 5 on target, against 10 shots (5 on target).

03/19/2026 (Ligue 1) – Lyon (down to 10 men in the 19th minute at 0-0, then down to 9 in the 90+6th minute at 0-2)/Celta Vigo: 0-2. In a 5-3-2. 40% possession. 4 shots, including 1 on target, against 14 shots (8 on target).

03/22/2026 (Ligue 1) – Lyon (down to 10 men in the 89th minute at 1-2)/Monaco: 1-2. In a 4-2-3-1. 56% possession. 16 shots, including 4 on target, against 19 shots (7 on target).

04/05/2026 (Ligue 1) – Angers/Lyon: 0-0. In a 4-2-3-1. 68% possession. 9 shots, including 3 on target, against 6 shots (1 on target).

04/12/2026 (Ligue 1) – Lyon/Lorient: 2-0. In a 4-2-3-1. 53% possession. 6 shots, including 2 on target, against 10 shots (6 on target).

The Lyon squad:

Unavailable – Fofana, Himbert, Nuamah, Sulc, Tolisso (injury), Tagliafico (suspension).

Probable lineup in a 5-2-1-2

Moreira – Endrick

Merah

Morton – Mangala

Abner – Kluivert – Niakhate – Mata – Maitland-Niles

Greif

Lyon’s style of play.

Rather attack-minded, Olympique Lyonnais sometimes still lack options and efficiency, especially when Pavel Sulc is absent. As is the case right now. Endrick has brought some drive and a few flashes of inspiration, but without much consistency.

There are still some solutions in their quality of play and, above all, a relatively solid defense. The question is whether OL will look to push up and press PSG or mainly sit in a low block. They took an attacking approach in the reverse fixture in November, but PSG were also in much worse physical condition then. This time, a more defensive plan is expected.

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