Rangers vs Lyon: Preview, predictions and lineups
Rangers are back in continental action at Ibrox on Thursday as they take on Lyon in their second Europa League league phase outing.
Both sides opened their accounts with victories last week. While Rangers won on their travels against Malmo, Lyon toppled Conference League holders Olympiacos 2-0 on home soil.
Philippe Clement’s side had endured a poor start to the season but a convincing defeat in the first Old Firm derby of the campaign has seemingly sparked this functional unit into life. Rangers have won four on the bounce in all competitions heading into this fixture.
Pierre Sage helped oversee an impressive resurgence at Lyon last season but the French side’s start to the season has been pretty chaotic. They currently sit 11th in Ligue 1 having won late on at Toulouse on Sunday, but this Lyon team also lost handsomely against Rennes and Monaco and embarrassingly to a ten-man Marseille.
Here is 90min’s guide to Rangers‚ upcoming Europa League clash.
Rangers vs Lyon H2H Record (All-time)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Rangers |
Lyon |
|---|---|
|
Rangers 1-0 Hibernian – 29/09/24 |
Toulouse 1-2 Lyon – 29/09/24 |
|
Malmo 0-2 Rangers – 26/09/24 |
Lyon 2-0 Olympiacos – 26/09/24 |
|
Rangers 3-0 Dundee – 21/09/24 |
Lyon 2-3 Marseille – 22/09/24 |
|
Dundee Utd 0-1 Rangers – 15/09/24 |
Lens 0-0 Lyon – 15/09/24 |
|
Celtic 3-0 Rangers – 01/09/24 |
Lyon 4-3 Strasbourg – 30/08/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
TNT Sports 3, discovery+, discovery+ App |
|
United States |
CBS Sports Network, Paramount+, fuboTV, ViX |
|
Canada |
DAZN |
The hosts have a few injury concerns to contend with heading into this fixture. Clement is likely to be without Rabbi Matondo, Danilo, Ridvan Yilmaz and Oscar Cortes due to their respective injuries.
Mohamed Diomande missed the weekend’s victory over Hibernian with a knock and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be involved on Thursday.
Nedim Bajrami, who impressed for Albania at Euro 2024, suffered a hamstring injury last week against Malmo but was fit to feature off the bench at the weekend and could return to Clement’s XI for Lyon’s visit.
Rangers predicted lineup vs Lyon (4-2-3-1): Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Propper, Jefte; Diomande, Barron; Cerny, Lawrence, Bajrami; Dessers.
The visitors are bereft of injury concerns and several former Premier League stars could line up at Ibrox on Thursday.
Alexandre Lacazette is a sure bet to get the nod up top for the away side, while Wilfried Zaha has come straight into Sage’s starting XI since joining the club. Ainsley Maitland-Niles is also in contention at right-back.
Rayan Cherki is the man to watch in a creative function, while the once highly-regarded Gift Orban has enjoyed a bright start to the season and could have an impact off the bench.
Lyon predicted lineup vs Rangers (4-2-3-1): Perri; Maitland-Niles, Mata, Caleta-Car, Tagliafico; Tolisso, Caqueret; Zaha, Cherki, Fofana; Lacazette.
There’s a sense of both teams building some momentum heading into Thursday’s game and Ibrox could play host to a goal-fest.
Last week’s routine win over Olympiacos was a bit of an anomaly for Lyon. They’re conceding two goals per game on average in Ligue 1, with Sage struggling to find security and balance at the start of the new season. Rangers could exploit the visitors‘ defensive issues in this one, even if they’re far from the most scintillating attacking unit.
Lyon are blessed with plenty of talent going forward, but many teams have crumbled in this environment over the years and this French side are primed to be next.