Olympique Lyon will be hoping that the return of talismanic striker Alexandre Lacazette will boost their Champions League campaign when they host Juventus in Group H tonight.
Lyon lost their sixth game in 12 outings in all competitions when they were beaten 2-0 at Ligue 1 leaders Nice on Friday but they started the match without Lacazette, who made his comeback from a five-week injury layoff midway through the second half.
Without the France international, Lyon have failed to score in three of their last four matches.
“We are in a difficult situation, we must get back to work, be strong and get back on our feet,” said keeper Anthony Lopes.
Lyon are third in the group with three points, one point behind leaders Juventus, who geared up for the clash at Parc OL with a 2-1 win against Udinese in Serie A.
Juventus striker Paulo Dybala, who scored both goals on Saturday, said the Lyon trip was the start of a run of fixtures that could have an important bearing on their season.
“The coming week will be tough but the whole month ahead of us will be crucial in the context of the season,” he said with Juve set to face Serie A fixtures against Milan, Sampdoria and Napoli in quick succession after the Lyon game.
Serie A leaders Juve could be without defender Giorgio Chiellini for today’s match but coach Massimiliano Allegri is not panicking.
“Chiellini (got) injured (shortly before Udinese)... it shouldn’t be anything serious for him and we’ll see whether he’ll be fit for Lyon,” he said.
With the return of Lacazette, who has scored six goals in four league starts this season, Lyon will play their favoured 3-5-2 formation with Nabil Fekir partnering his fellow France international up front.
Rafael return
Full back Rafael, who is also back from injury, will play on the right flank for Lyon, who could be tired, having played most of the game at Nice with 10 men.
“We need to recover mentally and physically. We were penalised against Nice but also for the Juve game because we played more than an hour with 10 men,” said Lyon coach Bruno Genesio.
“It will be a factor.”
Sevilla, who are second in the group behind Juve on goal difference, travel to Dinamo Zagreb, who have lost both their opening encounters.
Group E
Playing today
CSKA Moscow vs Monaco - 20.45
B. Leverkusen vs Tottenham - 20.45
Already played
Bayer Leverkusen vs CSKA - 2-2
Tottenham vs Monaco - 1-2
Monaco vs Bayer Leverkusen - 1-1
CSKA vs Tottenham Hotspur - 0-1
02/11/16: Monaco vs CSKA
02/11/16: Tottenham vs B. L’kusen
22/11/16: CSKA vs B. Leverkusen
22/11/16: Monaco vs Tottenham
07/12/16: B. Leverkusen vs Monaco
07/12/16: Tottenham vs CSKA
Group F
Playing today
Sporting vs Bor. Dortmund - 20.45
Real Madrid vs Legia Warsaw - 20.45
Already played
Real Madrid vs Sporting Lisbon - 2-1
Legia Warsaw vs B. Dortmund - 0-6
B. Dortmund vs Real Madrid - 2-2
Sporting vs Legia Warsaw - 2-0
02/11/16: B. Dortmund vs Sporting
02/11/16: L. Warsaw vs R. Madrid
22/11/16: Sporting vs R. Madrid
22/11/16: B. Dortmund vs L. Warsaw
07/12/16: R. Madrid vs B. Dortmund
07/12/16: L. Warsaw vs Sporting
Group G
Playing today
Bruges vs Porto - 20.45
Leicester City vs Copenhagen - 20.45
Already played
Bruges vs Leicester City - 0-3
Porto vs FC Copenhagen - 1-1
Copenhagen vs Bruges - 4-0
Leicester City vs Porto - 1-0
02/11/16: Copenhagen vs Leicester
02/11/16: Porto vs Bruges
22/11/16: Leicester vs Bruges
22/11/16: Copenhagen vs Porto
07/12/16: Bruges vs Copenhagen
07/12/16: Porto vs Leicester
Group H
Playing today
Dinamo Zagreb vs Sevilla - 20.45
Lyon vs Juventus - 20.45
Already played
Lyon vs Dinamo Zagreb - 3-0
Juventus vs Sevilla - 0-0
Sevilla vs Lyon - 1-0
Dinamo Zagreb vs Juventus - 0-4
02/11/16: Sevilla vs D. Zagreb
02/11/16: Juventus vs Lyon
22/11/16: D. Zagreb vs Lyon
22/11/16: Sevilla vs Juventus
07/12/16: Lyon vs Sevilla
07/12/16: Juventus vs D. Zagreb
Tomorrow (20.45)
Group A
Arsenal vs Ludogorets
Paris SG vs Basel
Standings: Paris SG, Arsenal 4; Ludogorets, Basel 1.
Group B
Dynamo Kiev vs Benfica
Napoli vs Besiktas
Standings: Napoli 6; Besiktas 2; Dynamo Kiev, Benfica 1.
Group C
Barcelona vs Man. City
Celtic vs B. M’gladbach
Standings: Barcelona 6; Man. City 4; Celtic 1; B. Mgladbach 0.
Group D
Bayern Munich vs PSV
FC Rostov vs Atletico Madrid
Standings: Atletico Madrid 6; B. Munich 3; PSV, FC Rostov 1.