Lyon desperate to get back to Champions League

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05/07/2010 - Valenciennes, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After reaching the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time in club history, Lyon is eager to return to Europe's premier club competition, but they must first get back into the top three.

Lyon enters the weekend trailing both Lille and Auxerre by two points, but Claude Puel's side has a game in hand and they can ensure themselves of a top- three finish with wins in their last three matches.

They are only in this position because of a vital 2-1 win over Auxerre on Wednesday that saw the club come back from a goal down, and Puel believes that the mental aspect of the game is just as crucial during the final games as the physical.

"What makes the difference now is mental strength and my players are doing a great job even if they're tired," Puel told reporters following Wednesday's contest.

Lyon was no doubt disappointed with their elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich, but they responded well with wins over Montpellier and Auxerre, putting them in position to make a strong final push.

"When you're near the end of the season, you have to be strong in mind because you're not on top condition. You have to show your rivals you want it more than them. We know we'll have to struggle," goalkeeper Hugo Lloris told reporters.

"Munich is out of our mind, we've put that behind us and what we want is to play the Champions League once again. We just need to win our last three games."

The first of those three comes Saturday at mid-table Valenciennes, while a midweek match against Monaco follows before ending the season with already relegated Le Mans.

Lille faces newly-crowned champions Marseille, while Auxerre hosts bottom-half side Lens.

Neither Lille nor Auxerre can afford to slip up, but if they do, it will give fifth-placed Montpellier a bit of hope if they can beat Lorient.

Bordeaux's late-season stumbles have left them with little hope of claiming a European spot but they will be hoping for some help from other teams as well as trying to beat Sochaux, while Monaco hosts Nancy, relegated sides Grenoble and Boulogne meet up, PSG visits Le Mans, Toulouse travels to St Etienne and Nice takes on Rennes.

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