This Thursday’s UEFA Europa League action sees Ludogorets Razgrad make the trip to face Olympique Lyonnais at the Groupama Stadium. This is a big match for the home side as a loss could see them slip out of the automatic Round of 16 spots.
Olympique Lyonnais have been good in the UEFA Europa League however they have been struggling this year in Ligue 1 with results not going their way and a shock exit from the Coupe de France via fifth tier of French football side FC Bourgoin-Jallieu have all led up to the sacking of Pierre Sage. They head into this match without a win in their last five games, losing one and drawing the remaining four consecutively. Ludogorets Razgrad have been much better on the other hand, they might have lost their most recent match but the four previous include three wins and a draw. This Thursday has a lot on the line for Lyon with a caretaker manager and a possibility of slipping to Round of 16 Playoff places.
Formation: 4-1-4-1
Predicted Line-Up: Lucas Perri; Nicolás Tagliafico, Moussa Niakhaté, Clinton Mata, Saël Kumbedi; Nemanja Matic; Ernest Nuamah, Corentin Tolisso, Jordan Veretout, Rayan Cherki; Alexandre Lacazette (c)
Olympique Lyon have had a great UEFA Europa League, residing inside the automatic Round of 16 places but if they do end up losing then they could slip into the Playoff spots. After seven games they sit in fifth with four wins, one loss and two draws. Those results have left them with 14 points, sharing that tally with three other teams but it is goal difference that keeps them higher up the standings. In the goals for Les Gones has been young talent Malick Fofana, grabbing himself four goals and an assist in the seven games the 19 year old has featured in. Always a threat at goal is club captain Alexandre Lacazette who has scored three goals in this competition, one behind Fofana. The pair of them could have been the ones to ensure victory this Thursday but Fofana is unavailable due to injury so the responsibility will fall to Lacazette and the rest of the Lyon squad.
Formation: 4-1-4-1
Predicted Line-Up: Sergio Padt; Denny Gropper, Dinis Almeida, Olivier Verdon, Son; Pedro Naressi (c); Caio Vidal, Jakub Piotrowski, Ivaylo Chochev, Erick Marcus; Rwan Cruz
Unlike their opponents, Ludogorets Razgrad have not had an amazing UEFA Europa League campaign, finding themselves already mathematically eliminated from the competition. After seven games they sit in 33rd place with zero wins, four losses and three draws. Those results have left them with three points, a whopping 11 points behind their opponents Lyon. Stepping up in the UEFA Europa League this season for The Eagles has been Erick Marcus. In six games, the winger has found the back of the net three times, through a goal and an assist. Seeing as Ludogorets have actually only scored three goals in the competition, he is responsible for all of their goals. Marcus seems like he will be the only player capable of making the difference this Thursday.
This is the first official meeting between these clubs so neither side have a historical advantage over the other. Taking recent form into account and it looks likely that this Thursday’s game will be a heavily contested battle.
Despite their results at the moment and a new manager in charge for this game, it seems probable that they will pick up another three points, ending their UEFA Europa League campaign of on a high.
For that reason, our betting experts have gone with Olympique Lyonnais To Win + Under 2.5 Goals as our best value tip for this game.
Odds of 14/5 mean that a £10 bet has the potential to return up to £38.10 in this match.
(odds subject to change)
Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 Ludogorets Razgrad
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