Lyon vs St Etienne preview - Lacazette: We have a point to prove

Posted Saturday, April 18, 2015 by PA

Alexandre Lacazette wants Lyon to "prove we deserve to be top of the table" in the Rhone Valley derby with St Etienne on Sunday.

Lyon took advantage of Paris St Germain's involvement in the Champions League on Wednesday to beat struggling Bastia 2-0 and take a two-point lead in Ligue 1.

France striker Lacazette had special cause to celebrate as his late strike equalled the 25-goal club record set by Andre Guy in the 1968-69 season.

"It was a difficult match. Bastia were very compact and defended very deep, it wasn't easy to get round them," Lacazette told Ligue1.com.

"I have entered the history books by equalling Andre Guy and it's amazing. Not many people were expecting that at the start of the season and I'm proud to be a part of the club's history.

"But now the derby is going to be a big game with a great atmosphere.

"We're going to put a lot of effort into our performance and prove that we deserve to be top of the table.

"This win gives us a 'get out of jail free' card for second place, but it's still fragile."

PSG's game in hand is at home to Metz on April 28 but they have the opportunity to apply pressure on Saturday as they play before Lyon with a trip to mid-table Nice.

"We'll know more after Sunday, we'll see more clearly, because the games go by and we're still top of the table," Lyon coach Hubert Fournier said after Bastia's brave resistance was broken by goals from Mohamed Yattara and Lacazette.

Lyon's bitter rivals St Etienne owed their 1-0 victory over Nantes last weekend to Franck Tabanou's stunning free-kick and, although the nature of the performance was disappointing, the win left Les Verts only two points behind third-placed Monaco.

"What counts is to qualify for Europe at the end of the season," midfielder Jeremy Clement told the official St Etienne website.

"Other teams are playing for the same thing as us but we are going to do everything and give our all to finish as well as possible.

Clement made 34 appearances for Lyon after progressing through their youth academy but he left the club in 2006 and the former Rangers and PSG player admits there is no room for sentiment with the stakes so high.

"It's an important match, a game in which we can make our supporters and the city happy," Clement said.

"Producing the same kind of performance as we did last season (St Etienne won 2-1 at Lyon) would be perfect.

"Lyon will no doubt want to take revenge, but we will have something to say about that."

Clement Grenier, who played his first competitive game of the season against Bastia after injury and whose cross set up the Yattara goal, should be available for Lyon after reporting no ill-effects after being out for 11 months.

St Etienne hope Tabanou is fit as the full-back limped off soon after scoring the winner against Nantes, while Ricky van Wolfswinkel continues to push Turkish striker Mevlut Erding for a starting spot.