Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Europa League clash between Rangers and Lyon, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Scottish giants Rangers welcome French outfit Lyon to Ibrox for their second Europa League fixture of the new season on Thursday night.
Both teams picked up maximum points on matchday one last week, with the Gers beating Malmo in Sweden and Les Gones coming out on top against Olympiacos on home soil.
Match preview
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Rangers manager Philippe Clement was left disappointed with his side’s sluggish start to the new season, but the Belgian has since taken positives from their four-match winning run in all competitions, scoring seven goals without reply in the process.
Three days after beating Malmo 2-0 in their Europa League opener, the Gers picked up three valuable Scottish Premiership points from a narrow 1-0 home victory over Hibernian last weekend, courtesy of a first-half strike from Tom Lawrence.
Clement has questioned the awarding of Hibs’ first-half penalty for an apparent handball against John Souttar, but Jack Butland nevertheless came to the rescue to save Mykola Kuharevich‘s spot kick and Rangers remain five points behind the top two, Celtic and Aberdeen, after six league games.
Rangers have two favourable-looking league fixtures against St Johnstone and Kilmarnock on the horizon, but they must first turn their attention to Thursday’s Europa League clash with Lyon, a team they have beaten just once in four previous European meetings (3-0 in the 2007 Champions League).
The Gers have only lost one of their last 17 European home matches (W11 D5), but that solitary defeat was against none other than Lyon, who came away from Ibrox with a 2-0 Europa League group-stage victory in September 2021.
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Lyon failed to win their opening two games in September against Lens (0-0) and Marseille (2-3), but they ended the month on a high by securing back-to-back victories over Olympiacos and Toulouse in a three-day period.
Les Gones scored twice in the second half to beat Conference League champions Olympiacos 2-0 in their Europa League opener last week, before coming from behind to beat Toulouse 2-1 away from home in Ligue 1 last Sunday, with teenage substitute Malick Fofana netting a dramatic 95th-minute winner.
After finishing sixth in Ligue 1 last season, Pierre Sage‘s side find themselves down in 11th spot this term with just seven points from their opening six games, already six points adrift of the top three and nine behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain, so their victory over Toulouse was a timely one following a rocky start to the campaign.
Lyon will now shift their attention back to the Europa League and will fancy their chances of success on Thursday, as they have won six and drawn one of their last seven away matches in the competition since a narrow 1-0 loss at Atalanta BC in December 2017.
The French outfit have also won three of their previous four European away fixtures against Scottish clubs, with the only exception being a 2-0 defeat to Celtic in the 2003 Champions League group stage.
Rangers Europa League form:
Rangers form (all competitions):
Lyon Europa League form:
Lyon form (all competitions):
Team News
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Rangers will be without Danilo (knee), Rabbi Matondo (hamstring), Ridvan Yilmaz (thigh) and Oscar Cortes (knock) due to injury, while Mohamed Diomande is doubtful after missing the win over Hibs with a knock.
Nedim Bajrami picked up a minor hamstring issue at the end of the win over Malmo last week, but the midfielder was fit to come off the substitutes’ bench for the second 45 minutes against Hibs and could be selected in the starting lineup on Thursday.
Hamza Igamane was handed his Gers debut up front last weekend, but the 21-year-old is likely to be replaced by Cyriel Dessers, who has scored seven goals in 11 appearances so far this season.
As for Lyon, Moussa Niakhate watched on as an unused substitute against Toulouse after a spell out with a muscle injury, and it remains to be seen whether the centre-back will be fit to feature in some capacity on Thursday.
Ernest Nuamah and Gift Orban were surprisingly left out of Lyon’s matchday squad last weekend, but Sage is expected to recall both players, with the former set to battle with Said Benrahma for a start on the right flank.
Wilfried Zaha is at risk of losing his starting spot on the left to either Malick Fofana or Rayan Cherki, while Alexandre Lacazette, who is yet to score in six appearances this term, is set to replace Georges Mikautadze up front.
Rangers possible starting lineup:
Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Propper, Jefte; Diomande, Barron; Cerny, Lawrence, Bajrami; Dessers
Lyon possible starting lineup:
Perri; Maitland-Niles, Mata, Caleta-Car, Tagliafico; Tolisso, Matic; Nuamah, Cherki, Fofana; Lacazette
We say: Rangers 2-2 Lyon
Both teams enter Thursday’s contest in buoyant mood and will back themselves to come away with a positive result. Rangers have looked solid at the back in recent weeks, but they may have their work cut out in keeping Lyon quiet considering the French side have scored two or more goals in four of their last five matches.
A closely-fought contest with plenty of goalmouth action could be on the cards here, and with that in mind, we can see the spoils being shared in an entertaining score draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.