UEFA Champions League - Olympique Lyonnais vs. ACF Fiorentina

Olympique Lyonnais and ACF Fiorentina will reprise their 2007/08 UEFA Champions League opening fixture when they kick off their Group E opener in an exact rerun at Stade de Gerland, Lyon. Olympique Lyonnais fought back from a two-goal deficit to carve out the 2:2 draw against Fiorentina last season before beating Fiorentina 2:1 on the away in the return leg of their tie. Lyon went on to reach the last 16 while Fiorentina failed to advance.

Coach Claude Puel has warned against reading too much into last terms success. ‘Tis a new season after all and they must do the rounds afresh. The hard work begins all over again and Lyon are eager to build on their last 16 appearance of last season. Right now, their immediate task is to maintain focus in Group action and get off to the right start.

ACF Fiorentina are fifth in the Serie A table after three cycles of the new season with an undefeated run made up of two wins and a draw. The opened their season with a 1:1 draw against Bologna and picked up form in their next two matches, beating Palermo and Cagliari each 1:0. Fiorentina’s critics point to their dull style of play; a right yawn or not notwithstanding, they still find away to win.

Lyon will be wary of the Italians when they welcome them to Stade de Gerland. Lyon have a great start in domestic action going for them which should make them optimistic in spite of the perceived threat the Italians pose to their Champions League campaign. Lyon are undefeated in five cycles in Ligue 1 and currently are second in the table, level on points (13) table leaders Girondins de Bordeaux. They have gone 4-1-0 in domestic action, scoring ten goals and conceding three goals.

:

Lyon -½ -125 -125 2 O -145 U +125 1½ O -105 U -125 Draw +230

Fiorentina +½ +105 +350 2 O -145 U +125 ½ O -125 U -105 Draw +230

Match Time: 02:45 P.M. Eastern Time Wednesday September 16 2009

Venue: Stade de Gerland - Lyon - France

Soccer Betting Verdict: Lyon are solid favourites at -125 to win outright and most agree they are the better play. This time around, many are confident they will have learned the lessons of last term and come out strong. They will defend in numbers and hope to deny Fiorentina a scoring chance, lending the general opinion this will be a low scoring affair. Therefore, Fiorentina looks to be a good play to cover the spread at +1/2 +105 or the team total at Under ½ -1o5.

Lyon will be anxious not to fall behind early, which makes me believe they will be looking for scoring opportunities right from the first whistle. Fiorentina are tough to break down though and they have a defensive approach to their game, yet I like Lyon on the totals to go Over 1 ½ at -105. On that vein, soccer bettors can back Lyon to cover the spread at -1/2 -125.