Lyon vs Olympiacos Piraeus prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – League phase betting tips on match 2024-09-25 19:00.
[p]Finishing sixth in the 2023/24 Ligue 1 season to earn a first European campaign since 2021/22, Lyon are ready to take to the field in the inaugural league phase of the Europa League. Despite the excitement, there may be some trepidation amongst the passionate Lyon fanbase after a mixed league start (W1, D1, L3), with Pierre Sage’s men most recently coming up short against rivals Marseille in a 3-2 defeat on Sunday. [/p]
[p]Sage will hope that a visit from 47-time Greek champions Olympiacos can be a good omen given Lyon’s positive balance after six H2Hs (W4, L2). Those games make up all of Lyon’s wins across eight meetings with Greek opponents and they’ll hope to add to that here. Should they do so, it may well be emphatic given that eight of Lyon’s last nine Europa League home victories saw them score at least three goals. [/p]
[p]The first Greek side to compete in European competition way back in 1959, Olympiacos finally became the first from their nation to lift a continental cup in the form of the Europa Conference League last term. Their journey to that historic triumph saw them drop down from the Europa League group stage, although there will be no such transfer this season with only a top-24 league placing securing a form of progression. [/p]
[p]On the homefront, Olympiacos had started perfectly in league action (W3) until dropping off to pick up just one of the last six available points (D1, L1). Despite that setback, boss José Luis Mendilibar knows exactly what it takes to perform in this competition given that he’s won back-to-back European trophies in the last two seasons, although he has a job on his hands trying to turn around Olympiacos’ frustrating Europa League away form (W1, D5, L3). [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Recently reintegrated into the Lyon squad after signing a new contract, Rayan Cherki may repay the club with a third European goal, and perhaps a crucial one given that two of his last three scoring games saw him net decisively. For Olympiacos, Ayoub El Kaabi has hit the ground running in 2024/25, adding five domestic goal contributions (G3, A2) to what was an incredible 11-goal season in the Conference League last time around. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: The home side on the day has scored at least twice in five of Olympiacos’ last six Europa League games. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Matthew Billon[/i][/p]