Claude Puel's side, who have 56 points from 29 games, now lead Olympique Marseille by a single point with third-placed Girondins Bordeaux two points further back.
Toulouse, Lille and Paris St Germain, four points off the pace, are also hot on Lyon's heels.
Bernard Lacombe, Lyon's special advisor and the French top flight's second most prolific striker of all time with 255 goals, confirmed Benzema was going through difficult times.
"He doesn't say so, but it shows," Lacombe told French sports daily L'Equipe earlier this week.
"He must not be impatient. He must think more about the team and be more generous. Everything else will follow."
Benzema's poor form was displayed in front of 80,000 fans at the Stade de France in the 1-0 win over Lithuania in a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday - and to millions of TV viewers.
"Inevitably it will come back to Karim. We need him. We cannot be champions of France without a great Benzema," he said.
Toulouse, who hope to be once again boosted by Ligue 1's top scorer Andre-Pierre Gignac, visit second-from-bottom Caen later on Saturday.
Marseille, the league's best team away from their base, will be at St Etienne in the day's final game.
