AS Monaco vs Olympique Lyonnais 10/08/19

10 August 2019

The 2019-20 Ligue 1 action starts this weekend at the Stade Louis II as AS Monaco take on Olympique Lyonnais in their opening match of the season.

Interestingly, none of the previous eight H2H meetings between these two sides has ended in a stalemate, with Lyon coming out on top five times across those clashes.

The hosts have endured a frustrating 2018-19 league L1 campaign, having finished 17th, just two points above the relegation territory. Monaco’s pre-season has started in the same way they’ve played the entire last season, with Les Monégasques suffering three defeats in the first four summer friendlies (W1, L3). However, they have put together four games without a loss in the build-up to this meeting (W3, D1), with all three of those triumphs ending with the same 1-0 scoreline. Just one triumph in the final five L1 home games of last season (W1, D2, L2) can’t encourage Leonardo Jardim although the fact his team has outplayed Lyon in the last two games at this venue can give him a glimpse of hope.

Meanwhile, the visitors have gone through a nightmarish pre-season campaign, suffering four defeats in five summer friendlies (W1, L4). Still, all of those games have produced over 2.5 goals and featured goals in both halves, with four of them seeing both teams score. Three of Lyon’s four summer losses have seen them concede three or more goals, with Les Gones scoring one goal or less on three occasions too. Lyon’s impressive away form in the final stage of the last campaign (W4, L1) is something Sylvinho can look to build on, especially as Lyon scored over 2.5 match goals on three occasion in that period.