Lyon have summit in their sights

Olympique Lyonnais will finish top of UEFA Champions League Group E if they defeat Debreceni VSC and ACF Fiorentina lose at Liverpool FC. Claude Puel is aiming to put the dramatic 4-3 weekend loss against LOSC Lille Métropole behind them to achieve exactly that. The Hungarian side are without a point as their competition debut ends and coach András Herczeg admits they "want to come back next year and do better".

Claude Puel, Lyon coach
We needn't dwell on our defeat in Lille. We are fine physically and mentally. Against Debrecen we have the chance to take first place. We have to win. To achieve this aim, we'll have to respect our opponents. A lot of people think it'll be easy, but they only lost 1-0 twice against Liverpool. We'll have to be careful. I imagine Liverpool will take things seriously against Fiorentina in front of their own fans. The English want to win. Before the play-offs, we would have snapped their hands off if someone had been told us we would be in this position now.

András Herczeg, Debrecen coach
We have enjoyed a lot of good experiences during this group stage. We have learnt a lot, and want to come back next year and do better. We were the smallest team in the group and had nothing to lose. Lyon are probably going to win, but we will do our best to make it difficult despite the fact three key players won't be with us. In our last meeting with Lyon we had a bad start and then it was too hard to come back. We are proud of having played the Champions League. It was a pleasure.

Weekend results
06/12/09 LOSC Lille Métropole 4-3 Lyon
(Frau 24, Gervinho 53 90+2, Cabaye 70pen; Lisandro 2 22pen 35)

• Lisandro broke the deadlock after 68 seconds en route to his first-half hat-trick – the first in Ligue 1 this season but his second in all competitions – though it was not enough to earn even a point in Lille.

• Lyon have not won in six games, drawing four and losing two since beating AS Saint-Etienne 1-0 on 31 October despite Lisandro scoring seven times during the run.

03/12/09 Debrecen 2-0 MTK Budapest
(Coulibaly 33pen, Szakály 36)

• Goals from Adamo Coulibaly and Péter Szakály earned András Herczeg's side a fourth successive 1. Liga victory. They are second two points off leaders FC Videoton.

Team news
Lyon
Out: Aly Cissokho, Jeremy Toulalan, Mathieu Bodmer (all groin)
Doubtful: François Clerc (knee)
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: Lisandro, Miralem Pjanić

Debrecen
Out: Vukašin Poleksić (back), Leandro, Gergely Rudolf (both groin)
Doubtful: none
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: none

Background
• The Lyon match is Debrecen's 50th game in UEFA club competition.

• Debrecen are one of only two teams – the other being Maccabi Haifa FC – still seeking their first points going into Matchday 6. Eight teams have ended a UEFA Champions League group stage without a single point.

• Playing Hungarian opposition for the first time, Lyon recorded their biggest away victory in the UEFA Champions League on Matchday 2 when they beat Debrecen 4-0 with strikes from Kim Källström, Miralem Pjanić and Sidney Govou.

Did you know?
Debrecen will travel to the Stade de Gerland hoping to avoid a repeat of their only previous visit to France, when they went down 5-1 at FC Girondins de Bordeaux in the 2001/02 UEFA Cup first round.

For more information on the match in the official press kit, click here.