Valenciennes are having a miserable season in the French Ligue 2. It won’t be long before their relegation to the third tier will soon become a reality. On the other hand, they are doing a very good job in the French Cup, where they reached the semi-finals. The red and whites dream that they could fight for a breakthrough in the fight for a valuable trophy. However, it will be very difficult for the visitors to achieve the desired success, because they are clashing with a big club such as Lyon.In Olympique, they expect nothing but a place in the final against the hopelessly last team of the second French league. It would literally be a miracle if the club from the north of France defeats a Ligue 1 team that caught a winning wave in the spring and is constantly advancing in the top-tier table.Apart from winning the trophy, OL has another motivation. It is not clear whether they will successfully complete their way to the qualification for the European Cups through the league stage, so the next possible path for coach Pierre Sage’s boys leads through the National Cup.𝘿𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙚́𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣 𝙖̀ 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙧 𝙖𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙡𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙚 ⛰️L’@OL et le @VAFC s’affrontent pour une place en finale de la #CoupeDeFrance 🏆🔜 RDV ce soir à 20h45 sur @beinsports_FR 1 📺 pic.twitter.com/eBdMDdtPbr— Coupe de France (@coupedefrance) April 2, 2024 In any case, only the winner of the biggest (by volume) French competition can play in the Europa League next season. Lyon have only two more opponents on the way to this goal, the troublesome VAFC and the better of the duel between PSG and Rennes. This duel is scheduled for Wednesday.”This is the most important game in many players’ careers,” said 36-year-old visiting defender Joffrey Cuffaut. “We are not favorites, so we have to be able to make the opponent doubt themselves. Only then could we achieve something historic”.The last time Valenciennes managed to reach the final of the French Cup was back in 1951, and they also played in the semi-finals in 1970.”We have already achieved a lot in this competition,” Ahmed Kantari, coach of the red and white team, assessed the progress so far. “We have to be warriors, to be ready to leave our heart and soul on the field. It will be one of the most important and beautiful games in the club’s history.”##EDITORS_CHOICE##Lyon are in the semi-finals for the fourth time in the last five editions of the French Cup. OL knocked out Strasbourg on penalties in the round of 16 and already got the fans used to being at the penultimate hurdle of this competition. However, reaching the final was a different story, as Lyon had been eliminated in their previous four encounters at this stage.Under Sage, the team from the Groupama Stadium did not only do well in this tournament, but is among the best teams in the French top in 2024. In this year, they won 19 points in the championship, and only Rennes was better with 20. Lyon are currently 10th in table even though they were in danger of relegation when Sage took over. Much can also be attributed to the Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matić, who has been irreplaceable ever since arriving from Rennes.COUPE DE FRANCESemifinalsTuesday21:45: (1.20) Olympique Lyon (6.75) Valenciennes (14.0)Wednesday22:10: (1.45) PSG (4.50) Rennes (7.00)***odds are subject to change***
