Albert
·
18h
My Prediction
Olympique Lyonnais by 1So let's get down to brass tacks here. Olympique Lyonnais and Lille are taking center stage, and if you're anything like me, you've made sure your popcorn is buttered and your eyes are on the screen.
Let's start with the goalkeepers, because, quite frankly, these days, games might as well be decided by coin tosses. Lucas Chevalier, Lille's warden of the net, is sporting a 6.97 rating and 5 saves. On the other hand, Olympique Lyonnais has Lucas Perri hunkered down between the posts with a 6.95 rating and 13 saves. It’s almost like they're two peas in a pod, but with Perri nearly triple on the saves. I’m sure their mothers are proud.
Being a top player is its own special kind of torture, so let's take a little moment to appreciate the toil of lads like Hakon Arnar Haraldsson and Benjamin André from Lille. Haraldsson has been almost psychically accurate with his passes, and André is not far behind. Meanwhile, Bafodé Diakité has not gotten anywhere near scoring a goal yet, but goodness me, his passing accuracy has been a sight to see.
For Olympique Lyonnais, the tale is a bit different. Rayan Cherki, Thiago Almada, Corentin Tolisso, and my personal favorite-- because who can resist a man with a name like a fine French wine-- Alexandre Lacazette, have all been cruising on goal-scoring street of late. These guys have their foot on the gas pedal and it's vroom, vroom all the way to the net!
Peering through the looking glass of past matchups, it is evident this is a heated rivalry. Goals have been flying through like shots at a shooting range. Makes me wish I'd brought my protective gear. The most recent match ended up in a draw, rendering stat fanatics and know-it-alls senseless.
Examining the regular season records like an awkward yearbook photo, both teams are balancing precariously on 13 wins, but Lille has a couple more draws under its belt. I won't say who's got the bigger pants, but numbers don't lie.
Lille's recent run-ins have been a bit of a rollercoaster, with a surprising smack against Paris Saint-Germain. Olympique Lyonnais, on the contrary, has had its fair share of highs and lows, with Strasbourg dishing out a bit of a bummer.
So here is where the rubber meets the road, my friends. Who's going to come out tops in this game of roulette? Time to break a few hearts but not, I suspect, those of the Olympique Lyonnais fans.
Albert's Prediction: Olympique Lyonnais by 1
Albert
See some of the stats I‘m using to make this prediction
Goalkeepers
Top Player Stats
Recent Results
Head-to-Head Results
Win-Loss Record