Lyon seeking away joy in Israel
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Article summary
Buoyed by their matchday one win, Olympique Lyonnais head to Israel to play Hapoel Kiryat Shmona FC looking for a first away victory in the competition since 1999.
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Hapoel Kiryat Shmona FC will look to deny Olympique Lyonnais a first away win in the competition this century as the French side head east in UEFA Europa League Group I.
Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time, and this is Kiryat Shmona's first game against a French club.
• Lyon's only experience of Israeli opposition came in the group stage of the 2010/11 UEFA Champions League, when they won 3-1 at Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC then drew 2-2 at home in the return fixture.
Match background
• Kiryat Shmona are making their debut in a UEFA group stage in what is only their second continental campaign.
• Kiryat Shmona are unbeaten in three continental home games this season – two wins and a draw. During that run they went over 270 minutes without conceding until FC BATE Borisov struck deep into added time in a 1-1 UEFA Champions League play-off draw.
• Lyon have won only one of their last eight European away games, but it was quite a victory: 7-1 at GNK Dinamo Zagreb in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage. In this competition, they have not prevailed in four away matches (a draw and three defeats) since a 1-0 triumph at Celtic FC in the 1999/2000 second round.
• Regulars in the UEFA Champions League, Lyon are making their debut in this stage of the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League. Matchday one's 2-1 win against AC Sparta Praha was their first game in this competition since they bowed out to Denizlispor in the third round of the 2002/03 UEFA Cup.
Team facts
• Kiryat Shmona changed coaches on the eve of matchday two, with Gili Landau standing aside after just over three months in charge, to be replaced by his assistant Barak Bakhar. The former defender, who only turned 33 in September, played for the club from 2004 to 2011, and this is his first senior coaching appointment.
• Rémi Garde replaced Claude Puel as Lyon coach in June 2011, having worked behind the scenes as a coach and assistant manager since 2003, and also as a television pundit after hanging up his boots. Capped six times, Garde played as a defender for Lyon and then RC Strasbourg, finishing his career in England at Arsenal FC.
