Dijon done well to recover from the disappointing start to the Ligue 1 campaign, having recorded back to back wins over Lorient and Evian, but they now face a tough task against Lyon. Les Gones climbed to the second place with home win over leaders Montpellier and they are hoping to continue the good run of results.

Dijon improving

Dijon did well to gain promotion to French top flight, but it looks as though the club haven’t done enough to properly reinforce the squad over the summer. With key striker Sebastian Ribas joining Genoa, the club management signed Brice Jovial and Gregory Thil to try and compensate for the forward’s departure, while Varrault, Matsui, Souprayen and Meite also arrived. Heavy defeats to Rennes and Toulouse hinted that Dijon could be in for a very difficult season, but the team managed to show some improvement to beat fellow strugglers Lorient and Evian. Dijon also beat Valenciennes in Coupe de la Ligue, but they have yet to prove they can match Ligue 1 big guns such as Lyon. The arrival of Damien Marcq on loan from Caen is expected to add some steel to the engine room, but defence remains the biggest problem, especially since Abdoulaye Meite is set to miss six more games through suspension.

Apart from Cedric Varault and Abdoulaye Meite, boss Patrice Carteron will have full squad to choose from.

Lyon still unbeaten

Olumpique Lyon largely disappointed under Claude Puel last season, so the fans were happy to see the back of former Lille coach. Young Remi Garde was brought to replace him and he has done a pretty good job so far. After club president Jean-Michel Aulas managed to keep hold of star players Gourcuff, Bastos, Cissokho and Lisandro, Lyon entered the new season in good spirits and that had a very good effect on the results. Following the opening win over Nice away from home, les Gones had some problems against Ajaccio and Brest, but showed a lot of improvement to beat leaders Montpellier, while knocking out very good Rubin Kazan side to reach Champions League group stages. The players are now in great spirits before the trip to Dijon, where Lyon’s superior quality and a wealth of experience should help them beat one of the weakest sides in the league.

Yoann Gourcuff has resumed full training but he is still a couple of weeks away from returning into action, whereas Sidy Kone returns from suspension.

Verdict

Dijon recorded two heavy defeats in the clashes with top table sides, proving they still lack some quality to match the best sides in the league, so I really cannot see them getting anything from this game. Lyon are doing very well at the moment and they could easily climb to the Ligue 1 summit after the game in Dijon.

Our prediction: Away win

Odds: 1.87 (20/23)

Bookmaker: Stan James