Zenit look to sustain flying start against Lyon

FC Zenit will look for a third straight victory in Group H when they host Olympique Lyonnais on matchday three.

Match background

Zenit
• For the first time Zenit have won their opening two UEFA Champions League group games – and now they are aiming to make it a hat-trick.

• André Villas-Boas's men have already won at Valencia CF (3-2) and overcome KAA Gent at home (2-1) to post their best start in six UEFA Champions League group stage campaigns.

• Last season Zenit's UEFA Champions League hopes vanished against Ligue 1 opposition when they lost 2-0 at AS Monaco FC in their final group fixture.

• Their earlier home draw with Monaco maintained their unbeaten record against French clubs in St Petersburg (W2 D2 L0).

• Vyacheslav Malafeev and Aleksandr Anyukov are survivors of Zenit's first home meeting with a French side, the 1-1 draw with Olympique de Marseille in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup round of 16 which secured a 2-1 aggregate success.

Lyon
• Lyon are still seeking their first win in Group H after a draw at Gent (1-1) and home defeat by Valencia (0-1).

• Their two previous visits to Russia have both finished in 1-1 draws – against FC Spartak Moskva in the 2000/01 second group stage, and FC Rubin Kazan in the 2011/12 play-offs.

• Bakary Koné's 87th-minute equaliser against Rubin in August 2011 took Lyon into their most recent group stage campaign as it secured a 4-2 aggregate victory. Maxime Gonalons also played that night.

• Steed Malbranque was on the bench for Lyon's draw at Spartak in 2000, and appeared as a substitute in their 3-0 victory over the Moscow club at home.

• Lyon's overall record against Russian sides is W2 D2 L0.

Coach and player links
• Villas-Boas was coach of the Tottenham Hotspur FC team who overcame Lyon in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League round of 32. Spurs won 2-1 at home and drew 1-1 in France.

• Javi García scored for SL Benfica in a 4-3 home win over Lyon in the 2010/11 group stage – albeit after suffering a 2-0 defeat at the Stade de Gerland.

• Ezequiel Garay played in the Real Madrid CF side beaten by Lyon in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 (agg 1-2) in 2009/10.

• Valbuena lost 2-1 at Zenit on 19 July this year with his former club FC Dinamo Moskva. In September 2014, he scored a spectacular chip and provided the assist for Dinamo's second goal in a defeat away to Zenit (2-3).

• Nicolas Lombaerts and Axel Witsel appeared in Belgium's 4-3 away victory over a France side including Mathieu Valbuena and substitutes Alexandre Lacazatte and Nabil Fekir on 7 June this year.

• Players who have played together:
Artur Yusupov & Valbuena (Dinamo Moskva)
Hulk & Rafael (Brazil)
Danny, Luís Neto & Anthony Lopes (Portugal)

Match facts

Zenit
• Zenit have lost twice in the league this term, both at home. They suffered only one Premier-Liga reverse at Stadion Petrovski in 2014/15 and three overall in their championship-winning campaign.

• Hulk provided all of the assists in Zenit's 3-0 triumph over FC Rostov on 3 October.

• Villas-Boas was given a six-match domestic touchline ban for being sent to the stands during Zenit's home loss to PFC Krylya Sovetov Samara on 29 August.

• The Portuguese announced on 10 September that he will leave Zenit at the end of the season.

• Artem Dzyuba's eight goals on the road to UEFA EURO 2016 is a Russian record for a EURO or FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign.

• Igor Smolnikov suffered an adductor injury during Russia's 2-1 victory over Moldova on 9 October.

Lyon
• Jordan Ferri's next yellow card will incur a ban.

• Milan Biševac (hamstring) has been out since going off six minutes into Lyon's 1-0 victory over Stade de Reims on 3 October.

• Aldo Kalulu injured his left ankle – sprain and ligament damage – in training on 13 October and was signed off for two months.

• Koné (heel, not played since 1 August) and Henri Bedimo (thigh, 20 September) are still sidelined. Rafael and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa returned in Friday's 1-1 draw at Monaco after exactly a month out, the former scoring Lyon's goal.

• Nabil Fekir, a scorer of four goals in as many Ligue 1 appearances in 2015/16, suffered ligament and meniscus damage to his right knee on his first start for France, a 1-0 victory in Portugal on 4 September.

• Clément Grenier (thigh) and Gueïda Fofana (ankle) are yet to play this season.