Sports
Bordeaux Aims To Bounce Back On Lyon
Bordeaux welcome back midfielder and captain Alou Diarra after he missed the first leg through suspension.
Centre-back Marc Planus could return for the French champions from a knee injury but midfield duo Fernando (toe) and Gregory Sertic (cheekbone) are out.
Lyon, leading 3-1 from the first leg, are without defender Mathieu Bodmer (thigh) and Jean Makoun (adductor).
Fit-again Jean-Alain Boumsong deputises for Bodmer, with Bafetimbi Gomis set to replace the suspended Lisandro.
Lyon take a two-goal advantage into tonight’s second leg all French encounter at Bordeaux thanks to a brace from Lisandro and one from Michel Bastos.
But Bordeaux manager Laurent Blanc has urged his side to overcome their recent slump in form and take their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
“We have some glaring weaknesses at the moment and our opponents are taking advantage,” said Blanc.
“It’s up to us to rectify the situation and not let things drop. It’s at moments like this that you see the worth of the men and the worth of the group.
“To be honest, I can’t wait for the match. It will allow us to throw ourselves back into a match, and what a match.”
Lyon keeper Hugo Lloris has warned his side to expect a backlash from Bordeaux, today.
“When you receive a setback, you want to re-assert yourselves immediately and produce big performances. That’s where Bordeaux are at the moment,” said Lloris.
“We’re expecting a very complicated match and we’ll have to be just as rigorous as in the first leg, if not more so.
“The first 20 minutes will be decisive because Bordeaux will do everything to turn the score around in front of their fans.”
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.