PreviewDubai Super Cup: The lowdown on Lyon

Jürgen Klopp’s side meet the French outfit in the first of their two games at the tournament, with kick-off 2pm GMT at Al-Maktoum Stadium.

Here, we take a closer look at Lyon…

• Watch Liverpool face Lyon and AC Milan in the Dubai Super Cup live on LFCTV and LFCTV GO*. Subscribe to LFCTV GO now and get a month free using the code GOFREE23. *Excluding MENA

Season so far

With no European football this term, Lyon’s competitive schedule in 2022-23 has been filled exclusively with Ligue 1 fixtures.

They sit in eighth place after 15 games of the campaign, having won six, drawn three and lost six.

Their last outing before the pause in club action for the World Cup was a 1-1 home draw with Nice the evening before the Reds signed off by beating Southampton at Anfield.

Lyon made a change in the dugout in early October, installing former France and Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc to replace Peter Bosz.

Recent games

The clash with Liverpool is Lyon’s second encounter in the Dubai Super Cup.

Blanc’s men were beaten 3-0 against Arsenal on Thursday afternoon, with the Gunners also collecting a bonus point in the tournament by winning the post-match penalty shootout 2-1.

Previously, they had warmed up for the competition with a friendly versus Belgian side Oud-Heverlee Leuven that they won 5-3 in Spain.

Top scorer

After five seasons in the Premier League with Arsenal, striker Alexandre Lacazette returned to Lyon for the second spell of his career in the summer.

And it has been a prolific comeback for the Frenchman to date, with Lacazette bagging nine goals from 15 starts in Ligue 1.

Attacking midfielder Tete, who is on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, is the next in line having chipped in with five strikes.

Previous meetings

Liverpool and Lyon have played just two competitive matches in their history.

Those games came in the 2009-10 Champions League group phase, with the visitors snatching a 2-1 result at Anfield with a stoppage-time goal before a 1-1 draw in the return fixture in France.

They did meet more recently in a friendly encounter, however, with the Reds coming from a goal behind to claim a 3-1 victory in Geneva in July 2019.

• Save 20% on everything* in LFC Retail's Christmas sale (*T&Cs apply)