Lyon
Saint-Étienne
It's the 125e edition of this duel between the two rival clubs, with 46 victories for OL against 44 in favor of ASSE and 34 draws. This Sunday, at Groupama Stadium, the Rhône derby, classified as very high risk in terms of security, is important for the rest of the season for both teams.
The supremacy of the Greens dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, at the time of their European epic. The Lyonnais dominated the derby during their hegemony over French football, in the 2000s.
The “house” players transmit the codes
In Lyon, Alexandre Lacazette, Corentin Tolisso, Maxence Caqueret and Rayan Cherki, and to a lesser degree Georges Mikautadze (at the training center until the age of 15), were immersed in the atmosphere of this derby from a very young age. In Saint-Étienne, there are also many in the same situation: Léo Pétrot, Aïmen Moueffek, Louis Mouton, Mathis Amougou and Mickaël Nade.
Whether they are from one camp or the other, these “house” players are responsible for transmitting the codes of this rivalry to their teammates, foreign players or those from other regions of France.
“Supporters prefer to win the two derbies rather than the championship”
“It’s a chance to compete in a derby for a pure Stéphanois like me. It's up to me to pass on certain messages to the new ones. They have already understood and will continue to understand it well. We will honor the jersey and we will give everything”confides Léo Pétrot who “looking forward to playing this exciting match”.
“We explain how important the derby is, and they are sometimes surprised. I think they didn't expect this match to be this memorable.responds Alexandre Lacazette, captain of OL. They have always been our rivals, and there are even supporters who prefer to win both derbies rather than the championship. Videos come up regularly, we were able to show them and I hope they resonated in their minds. »
Lyon wants to relaunch, Saint-Étienne wants to confirm
In the middle of the table, OL remain with three draws and one defeat. The Lyonnais played a Europa League match on Thursday against Hoffenheim (2-2). For its part, ASSE, in the bottom of the L1 ranking, quickly plunged into the derby after its victory against Strasbourg (2-0) on November 2.
“Saint-Étienne has quality”
“When we moved up to Ligue 1 and once the calendar appeared, we marked the two dates against Lyon. We have been focused for a week and there is a lot of desire to play it”underlines Pétrot. The latter expects a difficult meeting for the Greens.
“Lyon has a great team with good players. We know it will be very difficult, especially since we haven't won away yet.”underlines the Saint-Etienne defender who evokes “an opportunity to launch our season”.
For his part, Lacazette remains “distrustful” towards an adversary “going through a difficult time”. He continues: “But Saint-Étienne has quality and is tough in duels, good on the counterattack. Even if it is not always dream football, you will still have to be vigilant. »
Whether they are on one side or the other, the players of each team will give everything for their supporters, for whom this match is of particular importance.
“If we win the derby, we can lose elsewhere”also used to affirm the Little Prince of Gerland, Fleury Di Nallo (81 years old), co-top scorer in the history of this derby with Stéphanois Hervé Revelli (14 goals).
This Sunday, November 10 at 8:45 p.m., on DAZN.
