Liverpool v Lyon – Champions League Group E

Liverpool will be looking to bounce back from the beach ball incident which ended up costing them the game on Saturday against Sunderland. The Scouse-offending ball was tossed onto the pitch by a Reds supporter apparently, and when Sunderland striker Darren Bent’s shot hit it, keeper Reina was confused by the big red ball and made a move to save it instead of the small white one. Easy mistake to make one supposes. That kind of put the sour icing on a badly made cake for Liverpool, who have not been having a great time of it of late, and this now constitutes a big week for them.

The Reds lost their last Champions League match, which was away to Fiorentina, where they were outclassed in a 2-0 defeat. That defeat left them third in Group E and now have to try and rescue their campaign a little by beating Lyon. They will be hoping that by being at Anfield, will give them an edge over the French side, who have won their opening two Champions League games. Lyon have fired their way back to the top of the domestic French league, with just one defeat so far, which occurred on Saturday. On match day two, they beat Debreceni 4-0, in contrast to Liverpool’s struggling 1-0 victory over the Hungarians.

Liverpool had somewhat of a stuttering start to their domestic season, but then started picking up. But their last three games have seen the might giants falling from grace again. Following the 2-0 defeat by Fiorentina came another 2-0 defeat, this time in the Premier League to Chelsea. Add on top of that the 1-0 defeat by Sunderland and the Reds are seriously looking to turn around form. If Tuesday night does not go well for them, then it will make their next domestic game even tougher to bear. Who do they play? League leaders Manchester United. A very big week for Liverpool.

Boss Rafa Benitez’s worst nightmare came true on Saturday. The Reds were without both Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard. Many questions have been raised over how strong Liverpool really are without those two, and not only the result on Saturday, but the manner in which they fell, will be concern to Liverpool fans. Sunderland displayed a lot more drive and determination to get the job done, and made Liverpool look lack-lustre and lost without their two star players. Fortunately captain Gerrard is fit enough to make the starting eleven against Lyon, but they will still be without top scorer Torres.

That makes one wonder just where the goals will come from for the English side. Four defeats in the Premier League and only one goal in two Champions League games simply is not good enough. The defeat by Fiorentina will have certainly let them know that are in a tougher group than they might have expected.

Liverpool to win: 5/6 at Bet365
Draw: 5/2 at Blue Square
Lyon to win: 4/1 at SkyBet

Betting Advice: Certainly the Kop will be demanding a lot more from the players on the field, and if ever there was a need to raise their game, it will need to be done against Lyon. Lyon are a great side to watch, and tough to play against with plenty of Champions League savvy and know-how. They top Group E and will probably be happy enough to come away from Anfield with a draw, even though Liverpool are definitely there for the taking. Without Torres and having to pick themselves up from a severe slump in form, a win could just be a little too much to ask.
Lyon to win 1-0: 12/1 at SkyBet