Lyonnais vs Montpellier preview - Flooding hands Lyon home advantage

Posted Saturday, October 18, 2014 by PA

Lyon will host Montpellier on Sunday in an unexpected home match after flooding struck La Mosson Stadium and forced the fixture to be moved.

Montpellier's stadium was left underwater by heavy storms which caused major disruption last week and Lyon agreed to switch the fixture to Stade de Gerland, with the reverse fixture on March 7 going the other way.

It could yet prove to be a significant switch with the two sides locked together on 14 points, just outside the top three, and looking for any slim advantage on which to build momentum.

This is now the second of three home matches in a row for Lyon - with leaders Marseille next up - and midfielder Jordan Ferri is hoping that can be to their advantage.

"Given our good home form at the moment, I think it's an advantage for us," Ferri said on the club's website.

"We are full of confidence playing at the Stade de Gerland. We'll see if we can take advantage of three home games in a row, because we know we cannot afford to drop too many points.

"We have two tough games coming up, but the aim is to win and keep climbing the ladder."

Montpellier could have done without the loss of home advantage but defender Vitorino Hilton admitted such issues were put into context by the wider problems caused by the floods in the area.

"Personally, I have never experienced anything like this in my life," the Brazilian said on the club's website.

"It must be a very hard time for the people who experienced in. I never imagined anything like this in Montpellier. The Stade de La Masson is one thing, and it's annoying yes, but I also think of the people.

"When you lose everything in a flood it is very said and I wish them courage and to recover."