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French Cup football this Wednesday. Olympique Lyon and Ligue 2 outfit ES Troyes will fight for qualification in the Coupe De Ligue final over a single leg at Stade Gerland. The last time Lyon hosted Troyes was in the 2012-2013 Ligue 1 season and Lyon won comfortably 4-1.
Lyon was so bad when the season started, barely winning a game here and there – but now the former champions are really playing good football. Lyon is now 6th in Ligue 1 with some very good form. They lost last round 2-0 at Rennes after 6 consecutive wins in all competitions and 12 matches without a loss. In the last two matches in Coupe de Ligue Lyon defeated Reims (3-2) and Marseille (2-1), both times at home. For today’s encounter Yohan Gourcuff will very likely miss for Olympique Lyon.
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Bet with the best odds and highest limits at Pinnacle. |
Troyes relegated from Ligue 1 last season and their hopes for immediate promotion are close to zero right now. Troyes is on 11th place in Ligue 2 but at least the team is in pretty good form, losing just one of the last 5 matches they played. Troyes knocked out two Ligue 1 sides to progress to the semifinals – Valenciennes (3-1 away) and Evian (3-1 at home) in two very good performances. Troyes does not have new injuries or suspensions for this game.
Lyon is playing good right now but I don`t think they will have an easy time against Troyes. The visitors may not be the best of sides even in Ligue 2 but they have some fight in them, and the best proof is that in the last 38 matches (including four friendlies) they lost by more than 1 goal only ONCE! But on the other hand that loss was recent, a 3-0 defeat to Arles two weeks ago, and of course Troyes rarely faced opposition of Lyon’s caliber. All in all I expect a classic Coupe de Ligue match with the underdogs raising to the occasion. Lyon couldwell rest a couple of players and they will be more than happy with a 1 goal win. Troyes will give all they have and that should be enough to make this a close game. My tip is Troyes to cover a 1,5 goal handicap just like they did in more than 97% of their last 38 matches . Correct score prediction would be something like Lyon – Tours 2-1 or maybe even a 1-1 draw. For me the +1,5 handicap bet looks good enough for medium-high stakes (7 units).
Pick: Troyes (+1,5)
Odds: 1.81 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 5.67
Event date: 5 February
