BORDEAUX, April 6- Bordeaux approach the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Lyon on Wednesday looking to salvage something from a season that is threatening to unravel before their eyes.
Three successive defeats have seriously dented their three-pronged quest for silverware, with the 3-1 first-leg loss in Lyon last week bookended by defeat against Marseille in the League Cup final and a surprise 2-1 loss at home to Nancy on Saturday that saw Bordeaux slip from the Ligue 1 summit.
Les Girondins now lie fourth in the French top flight, albeit with two games in hand, while a mounting injury list has left gaping holes in Laurent Blanc’s previously imperious defence.
Goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso urged his team-mates to "take a good look at themselves in the mirror" after the defeat to Nancy and Blanc conceded that the reigning French champions have lost their way.
"In certain areas we were good (against Nancy), but in a very important area in top-level football – the defensive aspect – we’re very ordinary at the moment," he said.
"There weren’t many positive signs for the match on Wednesday."
Bordeaux must beat Lyon by two goals at the Stade Chaban-Delmas to stand any chance of reaching the Champions League last four.
Their cause was further hindered when defensive midfielder Fernando sustained a fractured cheekbone against Nancy that is likely to keep him out for the rest of the campaign.
Fernando joins young midfielder Gregory Sertic (fractured toe) on the sidelines, but Bordeaux are hoping that centre-back Marc Planus will be able to return from a knee ligament problem that has kept him out since March 13.
"We have some glaring weaknesses at the moment and our opponents are taking advantage," said Blanc, who will also be able to call upon influential skipper Alou Diarra after he missed the first leg through suspension.
"It’s up to us to rectify the situation and not let things drop. It’s at moments like this that you see the worth of the men and the worth of the group.
"To be honest, I can’t wait for the match on Wednesday. It will allow us to throw ourselves back into a match, and what a match."
Lyon put themselves firmly in the driving seat with a clinical first-leg performance at the Stade Gerland, in which a brace from striker Lisandro Lopez and a Michel Bastos goal put Les Gones within reach of the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in their history.
Coach Claude Puel rotated his team at the weekend but Lyon still managed to secure an impressive 2-1 victory at hard-to-beat Rennes that took them to the top of the table on goal difference from Montpellier and Auxerre.
"There was a certain amount of risk but we had to do it if we want to accomplish our objectives," admitted Puel, who left Cris, Jeremy Toulalan, Anthony Reveillere, Cesar Delgado and Bafetimbi Gomis on the bench at Rennes.
"I imagine you (the media) would have called me up on it if the result hadn’t been the one we wanted."
Puel revealed, however, that centre-back Mathieu Bodmer was "probably out" with a thigh injury, while Cameroonian midfielder Jean Makoun (adductor muscle) has also been ruled out.
Fit-again Jean-Alain Boumsong (calf) will deputise for Bodmer, with Gomis likely to replace the suspended Lisandro up front and Bastos expected to continue in place of Sidney Govou, who is also banned.
"When you receive a setback, you want to re-assert yourselves immediately and produce big performances. That’s where Bordeaux are at the moment," Lyon’s French international goalkeeper Hugo Lloris told his club’s website.
"We’re expecting a very complicated match and we’ll have to be just as rigorous as in the first leg, if not more so.
"The first 20 minutes will be decisive because Bordeaux will do everything to turn the score around in front of their fans."
