Lyon (AFP)

A big gap but no deadlock possible: Lyon, trailing in the standings, must win in Metz this Friday in Ligue 1 (8:45 pm) to maintain its hope of staying European before thinking of its shock from the Champions League against Juventus Turin, Wednesday.

With the draw conceded at home against Strasbourg (1-1) last weekend, OL remain on four days in a row without a championship victory.

To the point that his situation in the soft belly of the table (11th, 34 pts) begins to become critical, seven lengths from the third step of the podium occupied by Rennes (41 pts). Still engaged on four tables, does the Lyon club run the risk of losing everything and being deprived of any European competition for the first time since 1997?

"Victory is imperative in Metz, as always. We are playing to win the next matches and in Ligue 1 we need to win on Friday," said Lyon coach Rudi Garcia.

"We are still alive," he wants to believe. "It will be complicated to take back the 2nd (Marseille). On the other hand, the 3rd (Rennes) is not that far but it should not be dragged on the road", continues the technician.

But there is a pitfall: fighting against the scattering of players five days from a European shock against Juve by Cristiano Ronaldo.

"When you're coaching a Champions League team, you know very well that the before and after matches are always difficult to tackle," said Garcia. "We must focus on the Metz meeting and not think of anything else. All the teams playing C1, except those scheduled to win it and who have two teams in their workforce, drop a few points in the league."

- Guimaraes and Dubois back -

Suddenly, with five days before going to Metz and as many to receive Juventus, Lyon has time to organize real training sessions. Enough to reinforce a workforce put under pressure by the chain of meetings and less talented than during the golden era of OL, in the 2000s.

It remains for the Lyonnais to find a certain quality of collective play without their best individualities Memphis Depay and Jeff Reine-Adélaïde, injured over the long term.

Good news: in Metz as against Juventus, OL will be able to adopt a more wait-and-see attitude which seems better suited to it as evidenced by its results, notably outside, this season.

In addition, the club expects a lot from its latest recruit, Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.

"We worked on the integration of Bruno Guimaraes and the return of Léo Dubois, on the start of actions as well as the offensive and defensive animation", explains Rudi Garcia who also granted a rest day to his players, Tuesday .

Guimaraes and Dubois, who returns from injury, are expected to start Friday to be ready to face Juve.

"Bruno is good physically, technically strong, very good in short play and in one touch, capable of eliminating. We must explain to him Ligue 1 and the game of our team," said Garcia.

Announced as a future great player, he is already expected at the turn and with him the sporting director Juninho, who was decisive in his recruitment. It's up to him to adapt quickly: Juventus is fast approaching ...

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