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Their 2-1 victory at Anfield on Matchday 3 has put Olympique Lyonnais in control of UEFA Champions League Group E and leaves Liverpool knowing a fifth straight win on French soil in the second part of the sides' double-header is crucial to revive their fortunes. Late goals from substitutes Maxime Gonalons and César Delgado gave Lyon only their second win in England in seven attempts on Matchday 3 and sent the French side three points clear in the section, six ahead of their Premier League rivals who travel to the Stade de Gerland knowing a third successive defeat would leave their hopes hanging by a thread.

Although Liverpool have never played at the Gerland before, they boast an impressive recent record in France, having won on their last four visits. Skipper Steven Gerrard hit three goals in successive victories at Olympique de Marseille in the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons and will be sorely missed on this trip. Liverpool's fondest memories of trips to France are without a doubt of their 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in the 1981 European Champion Clubs' Cup final at the Parc des Princes. Lyon on the other hand have been very generous hosts to opponents from across the Channel.  Lyon won their first ever home fixture against English opposition - 1-0 against Tottenham Hotspur FC in the 1967/68
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup second round - but have failed to get the better of visitors from England in five subsequent matches, drawing four and losing one. The last time Lyon hosted a team from the Premier League, they drew 1-1 with Manchester United FC in 2007/08, an 87th-minute Carlos Tévez equaliser denying them victory in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League first knockout round contest. It was a costly goal to concede as Lyon went on to lose the tie 2-1.

Lyon have been in patchy form this season, winning 7 of 11 games in the League and are two points off the pace set by early leaders Bordeaux. Their only two losses in the seasons so far incidentally came either side of their big win at Anfield. The second of these was a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of OGC Nice on 24 October. It was the first time Lyon had conceded four since their 5-2 loss at FC Barcelona in last season's UEFA Champions League first knockout round. They had not shipped four in a Ligue 1 game in 124 outings, stretching back to a 4-0 defeat by LOSC Lille Métropole on 6 May 2006. Though they can draw some solace from the fact that they were without first choice keeper Hugo Lloris in that game. They did however return to winning ways this weekend with a 1-0 victory at Saint-Etienne, Bafétimbi Gomis coming off the bench to score against his former club.

Much more disconcerting however is Liverpool's inability to win at all. The Matchday 3 defeat by Lyon was Liverpool's fourth successive loss in all competitions, their worst run since March/April 1987. They did appear to have bounced back in emphatic fashion on 25 October with a 2-0 victory over Premier League champions Manchester United FC at Anfield - a third successive win against their old rivals. The optimism on Merseyside did not last long, however, as Liverpool lost twice in the following week to Arsenal and Fulham in the Carling Cup and Premiership respectively. Liverpool come into Wednesday night having lost six of their last seven matches in all competitions and five straight on the road.

Despite all the signs pointing strongly towards a Lyon win, one can't help but believe that Liverpool will manage to lift themselves for a big game of this nature like they did against Manchester United. Also, with the quality of a striker like Fernando Torres in their starting line-up they are always good for goals. The Spanish international is on a rich vein of form having scored seven goals in his last five Premier League appearances. In addition to Torres, Liverpool also have the guile of Yossi Benayoun and easily the Premiership's hardest working player Dirk Kuyt to call on should they need a goal. The key for Liverpool coming away with atleast a point from Stade de Gerland could however rest with their defence, which for long times during the reverse fixture at Anfield looked decidedly second best. Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger will need to produce a monstrous performance to keep the Lyon strike force at bay.

Lyon

Form Guide: W - 3, L - 2, D - 0

St Etienne 0-1 Lyon
Nice 4-1 Lyon
Liverpool 1-2 Lyon
Lyon 0-2 Sochaux
Lens 0-2 Lyon

Injury Report

Anderson - out since last season (knee, calf, shoulder), Jean-Alain Boumsong - out since 8 September (groin), Mathieu Bodmer - out since 26 September (groin)

Liverpool

Form Guide: W - 1, L - 4, D - 0

Fulham 3-1 Liverpool
Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool
Liverpool 2-0 Man Utd
Liverpool 1-2 Lyon
Sunderland 1-0 Liverpool

Injury Report

Albert Riera - out since 14 October (hamstring), Steven Gerrard - since 20 October (groin), Martin Kelly - out since 20 October (ankle), Glen Johnson - since 25 October (calf), Alberto Aquilani - since 28 October (virus)

Likely Line ups:

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Insua, Mascherano, Lucas, Aurelio, Torres, Benayoun, Kuyt

Lyon: Iloris, Reveillere, Clerc, Cris, Cissokho, Toulalan, Makoun, Kallstrom, Ederson, Lisandro, Govou

Did you know?

Along with Arsenal and Bayern München, Lyon are one of only three clubs with both men's and women's teams still competing in their respective UEFA Champions League competitions.

File Photograph copyright: Ryu Voelkel

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