A game of chicks in front of nearly 18,000 spectators at the Moustoir stadium this Sunday evening (5:05 p.m.).
Lorient, one of the youngest teams in the championship, receives Lyon, which no longer has a choice: it must rely on its training center.
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Calendar and results Ligue 1
League 1 standings
Lorient is the fourth youngest team in Ligue 1 - 24 years and 345 days on average - in a ranking dominated by Reims.
An average age, already very young, which drops if we only take into account the most decisive players: 22 years and 174 days.
In comparison, the players who put on a show in Lyon are 25 years and 226 days old.
Six OL executives absent in Lorient?
Since his induction into OL on October 9, Laurent Blanc has made no secret of his love for experienced players.
He was listened to during the winter transfer window with the arrival of Dejan Lovren, 33 and winner of the Champions League with Liverpool in 2019. “
Dejan brought us his skills, his experience.
Everything we thought he could bring us, he brings it to us
”, recognizes the Lyon coach, believing “
that he did a lot of good for the team
”.
Young players can perform well, like against Lille or Lens, and five days later in Auxerre, there is no one left.
Laurent Blanc
For the trip to Brittany, Laurent Blanc will have to revise his plans due to a cascade of injured people on the banks of the Rhône and an infirmary full to bursting.
Anthony Lopes, Malo Gusto, Jerome Boateng, Thiago Mendes, Jeffinho or even Alexandre Lacazette are not on the trip.
Houssem Aouar back, Bradley Barcola finally summoned.
“
We have a lot of absentees, in the last match we lost players,
concedes the OL coach.
Bradley we should be able to recover him for the Lorient match.
We lost Anthony Lopes, he played with a broken finger.
Nicolás Tagliafico is doing much better.
We recover Corentin Tolisso who we had on the bench.
Unfortunately at the moment we are not very spared from injuries.
»
In Lorient, the "President" will have to rely on his young guard.
Regulars like Castello Lukeba (20 years old), Maxence Caqueret (23 years old), Johann Lepenant (20 years old) or Rayan Cherki (19 years old), great hope from Lyon and eagerly awaited by the supporters, with whom Laurent Blanc is not always tender.
"
He's a boy in love with football, which is already very good.
He has a lot of talent, everyone is practically unanimous on that, but he must be used for the good of the team.
There were some heated discussions with him.
Talented players are different and if you are lucky enough to have a talented player and he puts him at the service of the team, it can lead to magnificent things.
»
Other young people point the tip of their noses.
This is particularly the case of Bradley Barcola (20 years old) or Mohamed el Arouch, only 18 years old.
“We
made him join the pro group, it was to make him play.
He was good but he still has work to do.
He is a boy who listens
” notes the former manager of Bordeaux.
Finally, winter recruits Jeffinho (23) and Amin Sarr (21) are getting in tune.
“
I have the feeling of learning all the players with the more experienced players who speak to me on a daily basis,
confesses the striker who came straight from the Netherlands.
I see a bright future here, I have to keep working hard
.”
In Lyon, the youth in power?
Alexandre Lacazette, who had chained 23 straight starts in Ligue 1, should be absent for a third straight meeting in the league, leaving his place to his cadets.
"
The young people are there to help the team in the competition
" conceded the Lyon captain a few weeks ago on
Prime Video
.
Arrived during the season, the former coach of the Blues (2010-2012), if he could have a look at the winter transfer window, must deal with a group already formed.
And do not hesitate to point out its limits.
“The young people are 20 years old on average. It's a good squad, a growing squad. Young players can perform well, like against Lille or Lens, and five days later in Auxerre, there is no one left
.
A youth that does not necessarily displease the main concerned.
“
When I arrived I saw all these young players,
says Amin Sarr
.
I was not very surprised because where I come from there are also a lot of young players.
Yes there are a lot of young players but above all there are very good talents here.
»
In Brittany, Laurent Blanc expects a match against a playful team, which "
likes to start from behind and play very quickly against
".
This promises a lively meeting with talented young people.
Be careful, however, not to overdo the roosters.
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