Although his side is on top of the table and undefeated, Lyon believes the Saints will be on the back foot and physically disadvantaged against the third-placed Bulldogs because of a short turnaround.
"We've got a short break. They played Friday and we played the last game of the round," Lyon said following St Kilda's 57-point win over Adelaide at Docklands on Sunday.
"Me sitting here objectively, it's going to be a big ask. How are our legs going to be?
"We're going to be under real pressure in the running stakes, because they're as strong a running team in the competition as there is."
Lyon watched the Bulldogs defeat Essendon on Friday night at Docklands, and although he was impressed by both teams, he said next week's opponent would be tough to overcome.
"They're a top four team – they're third on the ladder – so clearly they do a lot right," he said.
He also believes the Dogs have made subtle changes to their playing style.
"They're certainly doing some things differently – defensively they're a lot stronger, so they're an incredibly big challenge next Saturday night," Lyon said.
Lyon admitted post-match that the clash with the Crows, who came into the contest with seven straight wins, concerned him after the Saints followed their gripping round 14 win over Geelong with a taxing trip to the west last weekend against a competitive West Coast Eagles outfit.
"I thought the Geelong game was really for tough players and tough teams … and then to fly to Subiaco was a big ask, on a big ground and against a team that was quite physical and had been tackling quite strongly," he said.
"We don't see ourselves as a 22-0 team; it'd be nice, as we aim to win, but at some point, you think: 'Are our legs going to keep moving as quickly as they have been, and are they going to keep giving that effort?'”
Lyon was impressed with the way his team continued to win the contested ball against the Crows, who faded after a promising start.
"We really worked hard on our ball use and our ability to score against that team defence,” he said.
“We scored really efficiently and quickly, and we would've scored a lot more, to be frank, but we took our foot off the pedal in the last quarter."
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