MATCHDAY: Lyon plays Nice; Borussias meet in Germany

A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Friday:

GERMANY

Two Borussias with plenty to prove get the Bundesliga’s 15th round underway when Borussia Dortmund visits Borussia Mönchengladbach. Dortmund’s title challenge is already looking shaky following its 2-0 loss in Wolfsburg on Tuesday. It means Edin Terzić’s team is already six points behind 10-time defending champion Bayern Munich after 14 rounds. Gladbach is in an even worse predicament after its 2-1 loss at relegation-threatened Bochum on Wednesday. Daniel Farke’s team has now lost four of its last five games across all competitions. Gladbach’s bad luck continued with Alassane Plea testing positive for the coronavirus. The French forward has set up more goals for Gladbach than any other player this season, but he’ll miss Dortmund’s visit.

ITALY

Empoli hosts promoted Cremonese to kick off the final round before Serie A’s break for the World Cup. Empoli gave Serie A leader Napoli trouble in the previous round before conceding two second-half goals in a 2-0 defeat, while Cremonese is coming off a 0-0 draw with defending champion AC Milan in which goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi had a standout performance.

FRANCE

Lyon's mini-revival under new coach Laurent ended after two wins and his side needs to bounce back with a home victory against a Nice side starting to find its form. Nice is unbeaten in five league games, winning three of them to climb up to ninth place — one point and one position behind seven-time champion Lyon. Striker Andy Delort has been reunited with Gaetan Laborde at Nice and they are slowly starting to rekindle their dangerous partnership from when they played two seasons together at Montpellier. Delort has five league goals so far, while Alexandre Lacazette has netted eight for Lyon.

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