ligue1-logo
News

Preview: Driven Racing head to Lyon

Racing Club de Strasbourg, unbeaten in their first two matches, have grown into the season in impressive fashion. Under new manager Liam Rosenior, the club started the campaign with a sometimes-shaky draw away to Montpellier. It was a good point for a side who will be aiming higher than avoiding relegation, as they had last year under Patrick Vieira, but also far from the assured, more cohesive play that the Englishman has espoused as being his aim.
E. DEVIN
Published on 08/29/2024 at 19:00
2-minute read
With Emanuel Emegha on the scoresheet, Racing impressed against Rennes

Last weekend's home debut against Stade Rennais was a different story, though -- against a team which had themselves opened the season with a strong win over Lyon, the hosts won convincingly, 3-1, and could have had more but for a strong display by Steve Mandanda and a narrow offside against new signing Sékou Mara. Now, they have Lyon in their sights as they head to Groupama Stadium to take on a team who are yet to score this season.

Sage's bold moves

After a strong end to last season, which saw the club qualify for the Europa League on the final day -- against Strasbourg, thanks to an Alexandre Lacazette penalty, despite a busy mercato which has seen the club bring in a raft of both promising and established players, including American Tanner Tessmann in the week, Sage has sought to shake things up, namely by dropping Anthony Lopes in goal and relying more on the likes of new arrivals as opposed to academy products like Rayan Cherki. 

It's been a big change, but one which he was clear about working towards a sense of harmony in speaking before the match, saying ‘One of my priorities this week has been to create links and reactivate relationships between the players. I want to make sure they have a good time on the pitch, and that training time is a time for sharing'

csa-0725-2.jpg

New faces and old in Alsace

Racing have also had a busy summer window, beyond the arrival of Rosenior, but the new coach has avoided making wholesale changes, relying instead on a mix of players who were regulars last season and new faces. Emanuel Emegha was the club's leading scorer last season, and the lanky Dutchman again leads the line, supported by the likes of Habib Diarra and Dilane Bakwa, both of whom came on leaps and bounds last season. Defence and midfield also have a familiar look, with Andrey Santos having returned from Chelsea on loan -- the only new face is former Rennes defender Guéla Doué, who has been a standout to date. 

Other new arrivals, such as Mara and winger Óscar Perea, have been added more slowly, as Rosenior looks to show his team a canny balance of trust in the experience gained by last year's similarly young side and the potential of the players who have joined this summer.

Predicted lineups:

Olympique Lyonnais (4-3-3): Perri; Mata, Caleta-Car, Niakhaté, Abner; Matic, Tessmann (or Caqueret) Tolisso; Mikautadze, Lacazette, Benrahma

RC Strasbourg (3-4-3); Johnsson; Doué, Sow, Sylla; Bakwa, Santos, Doukouré, Wiley; Moreira, Emegha, Diarra

Read more:

Born to coach: Meet Racing's Liam Rosenior

Road to Ligue 1: Diego Moreira

ligue1-logo
Squads overview