Bourges Foot vs Lyon Predictions

Lyon have been fantastic recently with 2018 ending on a high as they have only lost one of their last 14 games in all competitions. Monaco and Saint-Étienne have been well beaten in this run while Manchester City were also matched to back up their tremendous victory in September. They currently sit two points off second place in Ligue 1 but will definitely be aiming for runner-up spot as Bruno Genesio’s side enter the business end of the campaign. 

They have faced some difficult opponents recently so will be grateful to face a much weaker opponent in Bourges. They have faced off against the aforementioned Monaco (2nd in 2017/18), Manchester City and Saint-Étienne (5th) in the past month or so but also Montpellier (4th), Rennes (5th in 2017/18) and Shakhtar Donetsk (1st in RPL) in what has been a devilish run of fixtures. Nevertheless they have come out of this largely unscathed and will be looking to hit a few past their opponents here. 

Lyon have scored 19 goals in their last ten games and 30 goals in the league this season but this doesn’t quite match  up with their fantastic total of 87 last year. However, they still have the firepower at their disposal and will look to continue their form of just one loss in their last 11 away matches. 

Despite the evident gulf in quality between the two sides, Bourges have also been in fantastic form with just one loss in their last 11 games (W8+D2) as they currently sit eight points clear at the top of the Championnat National 3 after only 12 matches. They have really obliterated their opponents with a whopping 28 goals in their last 10 matches; they have only failed to score once since April. In this match they will be facing a team with a pretty substandard defence though as Lyon have kept just two clean sheets in their last 13. Therefore, the minnows may be in with a chance here to get the home crowd on their feet. 

They also have such a fantastic home record with just two losses in their last 11 at the Stade Jacques Rimbault. This coupled with their great standing in the league and the excitement of a giant like Lyon coming to town could see Bourges have a real effect on this game. Lyon have been so poor defensively and with them likely to field a slightly weaker team for this extremely winnable match, we’re backing Bourges to at least get a goal here. Their strikers have been too hot in form not to and Ibrahima Keita will be eager to continue his goal streak of 14 this season. However, the muscles will absolutely be flexed by Lyon here in their first match of 2019 and with Bourges without a clean sheet in their last six games, we’re backing an easy 4-1 victory for the Ligue 1 outfit.