Other Competitions
UEL Preview: Lyon host Besiktas
Hitting their stride
After a comprehensive win over Le Havre at the weekend, Lyon are purring under Pierre Sage of late. The victory marked their third straight in Ligue 1 McDonald's and fifth straight overall, including wins over Olympiakos and Rangers in the Europa League. Alexandre Lacazette has found his scoring boots again, netting his first league goal at the weekend after a brace in Scotland, but the real stars of the show have been youngsters Malick Fofana and Rayan Cherki.
Thriving in an attack-minded 4-3-3, the pair have been in top form since breaking into the starting eleven, with Fofana also having scored a brace against Rangers, in addition to winning his first senior cap for Belgium. Academy product Cherki has been the team's creative fulcrum with three assists and two goals in the last month. In addition to their in-form attackers, Lyon will also welcome the return of Nemanja Matic, with the veteran in the frame to start at the base of midfield.
It's @EuropaLeague week! 🔴🔵#OLBJK pic.twitter.com/FU3P8AYxcF
— Olympique Lyonnais 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@OL_English) October 23, 2024
A tough start in Europe
Things have been rather more challenging for the visitors, to say the least. They've started strongly in their domestic league, having won six and drawn two of their eight league matches, powered by the strong play of summer signing Ciro Immobile, but in Europe, it's been a rather different story for Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side.
They haven't been aided by the easiest of fixtures, but after a 3-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt was followed by a 4-0 defeat to Ajax in Amsterdam, the team find themselves rooted to the bottom of the Europa League table. With Lyon having knocked Besiktas out of this competition in 2017, there will surely be a measure of revenge on the cards for the visitors, but they may find it a tough ask in what is sure to be an amped-up Groupama Stadium.
Predicted lineups:
Olympique Lyonnais (4-2-3-1): Perri; Maitland-Niles, Caleta-Car, Niakhaté, Tagliafico; Veretout, Tolisso; Nuamah (or Benrahama), Cherki, Fofana; Lacazette
Besiktas (4-3-3): Destanoglu; Svensson, Udokhai, Topçu, Masuaku; Ndour, Fernandes, Al-Musrati; Silva, Immobile, Muçi
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