Lyon vs Besiktas prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – League phase betting tips on match 2024-10-23 19:00.
[p]Lyon are flying, with their 4-0 thrashing of Le Havre on Sunday their fifth straight victory – a sequence that’s seen them score 14 goals and concede just two! That impressive run includes the opening two games of their UEFA Europa League (UEL) campaign, meaning that Pierre Sage’s men sit second, behind only Lazio heading into matchday three. [/p]
[p]That should come as no surprise given that Lyon have lost just one of their 26 group/league phase games in the UEL (W18, D7), avoiding defeat in each of the 13 home games in that run (W10, D3). That’s ominous for visitors Beşiktaş, who’ll have revenge on their minds after being dumped out of this competition in the quarter-finals the last time these two sides met in 2017, losing on penalties after a 3-3 aggregate draw in which Les Gones won 2-1 at home.[/p]
[p]BeĹźiktaĹź haven’t tasted defeat domestically since May (W7, D2) and currently sit second in the SĂĽper Lig, but it’s a different story in Europe for the Black Eagles. A pair of heavy defeats to Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt – in which they conceded seven times while netting just once in reply – means they start this matchday bottom of the table.[/p]
[p]Their recent record on the road in this competition makes for especially grim reading, as they’ve conceded at least three times in each of their last five such trips (D1, L4). Perhaps the one consolation is that their manager is now Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who got Rangers to the UEL final three seasons ago despite the Scottish giants losing both their opening group games. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Teenager Malick Fofana has been on fire in recent weeks for Lyon, directly contributing to five goals in his last four matches at club level (G4, A1), while six of his last seven goals have come in the 55th minute or later. In similarly fine form is Beşiktaş summer signing Ciro Immobile, who has netted 12 times in 13 appearances since joining, including six goals in the first 30 minutes of games. [/p]
[p]Hot streak: Lyon have scored at least one second-half goal in each of their last six matches. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Alex Bowmer[/i][/p]