The Daily Star Ireland
Olympique Lyonnais has shown strong performance in the Europa League so far, despite their financial difficulties. With three wins from their first five matches, including impressive victories over Olympiakos, Rangers, and Qarabag, Lyon is currently sitting in 7th place in the standings. Although they suffered a narrow 0-1 loss to Besiktas and drew 2-2 with Hoffenheim, their aim remains to secure a top-eight finish, which would grant them direct qualification to the round of 16 without needing to go through the playoffs. In the French league, despite a tough start, Lyon remains undefeated since late September, having recently triumphed 4-1 over OGC Nice. They will aim to continue their good run against Angers this weekend, but a tough challenge awaits them on Thursday.
Eintracht Frankfurt, currently in third place in the Europa League with 13 points from 15, is performing equally well. After drawing 3-3 with Viktoria Plzen in their opener, the German side won all their subsequent matches, including victories against Besiktas, Rigas FC, Slavia Prague, and Midtjylland. They are also excelling in the Bundesliga, sitting second behind Bayern Munich, and they will look to extend their winning streak with another victory over Augsburg this weekend. Eintracht’s attacking force, led by Egyptian forward Marmoush and former Paris player Hugo Ekitike, has been instrumental in their strong performances this season.
For Lyon, several key players are expected to feature, including Benrahma, Mikautadze, Lacazette, Tolisso, and Cherki. However, they will be without former goalkeeper Lopes, who has been excluded from the squad. Eintracht Frankfurt, meanwhile, will be nearly at full strength, with only backup striker Amenda possibly missing from the squad.
Prediction
In terms of the match prediction, both teams have shown consistency in games with three or fewer goals, with Lyon having 17 such games in their last 19, and Eintracht Frankfurt recording 17 in their last 21 Europa League fixtures. Thus, a 1-1 draw is a likely outcome for this highly competitive encounter.
