Aristocrats fighting over a Champions League scrap

The Groupama Stadium plays host to a match between two clubs that spend money like drunken sailors but still find themselves staring at the back of a RC Lens bus. It is a clash of the erratic aristocrats as fourth-placed Lyon welcomes sixth-placed Monaco for a game that will likely decide who gets to lose in the Champions League group stages next year and who settles for the glamour of a Thursday night in Azerbaijan.

Lyon currently sits in fourth with 47 points, a position that feels like a MIRACLE considering their historical penchant for internal drama and questionable recruitment. They have finally found a player who knows where the goal is in Pavel Sulc, whose 10 goals have done more for the city of Lyon than their famous silk industry ever did. With Corentin Tolisso still patrolling the midfield like a grumpy veteran who refuses to retire, Lyon actually looks competent. This is, of course, the most dangerous time for their fans, as competence is usually the precursor to a SPECTACULAR collapse.

Monaco arrives in sixth place with 43 points and a squad list that looks like a FIFA Career Mode experiment gone wrong. They have Ansu Fati, who apparently traded the pressure of Barcelona for the tax-free tranquility of the Rock, and Folarin Balogun, a man who remains a mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a red and white jersey. Monaco has scored 45 goals this season, proving they can attack, but their 37 goals conceded suggests their defense is about as sturdy as a wet baguette.

A win for Monaco closes the gap to a single point. A win for Lyon effectively kills off the Principality's hopes of the big time. Expect plenty of tactical fouling, at least one VAR controversy that lasts five minutes, and Monaco playing with the urgency of a team that knows their stadium is basically a library with a grass pitch. Lyon has the home advantage and the momentum, but Monaco has the individual talent to ruin everyone's weekend.

Prediction: Lyon 2-2 Monaco