Football Season Guide

Olympique Lyonnais might have spent the first half of last term in disappointing form, but a stunning surge under the guidance of Bruno Genesio has them aspiring to challenge Paris Saint-Germain towards the top of Ligue 1 this time around. Of course, there are no serious expectations of winning the league, but they can harbour genuine hopes of closing the gap on the Parc des Princes club, particularly after retaining the services of all their key players over the summer, with the exception of Samuel Umtiti, who has gone to Barcelona. Nicolas Nkoulou arrived from Marseille as his replacement, and though perhaps not quite of the same quality he represents a very solid option at their level. Emmanuel Mammana, meanwhile, has joined to provide more depth to this area, with the 20-year-old Argentine highly rated in his home country as one to watch in the future. Poland international Majiec Rybus has also joined up with OL and represents an upgrade over Henri Bedimo, who has been allowed to leave. With Anthony Lopes in goal and Christophe Jallet at right-back, Lyon are looking reasonably well stocked in their defence. Meanwhile, no changes at all have been made to their midfield and attack, with all their regular personnel from last season retained thus far. Rumours that Corentin Tolisso, such an important and versatile performer last season, might leave for Napoli have so far not come to fruition – OL would be unable to find a similar quality of performer in the same wage bracket. Alongside Jordan Ferri and Maxime Gonalons – not to forget Sergi Darder – Lyon have plenty of quality in the centre of the field. Mathieu Valbuena and Clement Grenier will likely struggle to earn game time but they have not yet been offloaded, while the return of Nabil Fekir from close to a year out is another major boost. On the wings, there is pace and flair through Maxwel Cornet and Rachid Ghezzal, while Alexandre Lacazette will shoulder the scoring burden after overcoming his early-season slump spectacularly last term.