Preview: Celta Vigo vs Lyon - prediction, team news, lineups

Meeting for the first time on the European stage, Celta Vigo welcome Lyon to Balaidos in the Spanish community of Galicia for the opening leg of that round of 16 Europa League tie on Thursday.

Thanks to a pair of one-goal victories over PAOK in the playoff phase, the Spaniards were able to advance, while Lyon finished on top of the League Phase table, earning an automatic place in the last 16.

Match preview

A pair of narrow victories against a well-structured and disciplined Greek side has taken Celta Vigo into the last 16 of this tournament for the first time since 2016-17.

Four of the previous five competitive games played by Claudio Giraldez’s men have been decided by a single goal, with Vigo winning on three of those occasions.

They will enter this contest unbeaten in their last four Europa League encounters, dropping points only once over that stretch (1-1 draw at Red Star Belgrade).

At the same time, four of their five matches played at home in this tournament ended in a victory for Celta, though three of their four competitive defeats in 2026 have also come at Belaidos.

Thursday will mark their first knockout game in this competition since reaching the semi-finals of the 2016-17 Europa League, with their only two knockout defeats in that edition coming at home.

Os Celestes have a 100% record against French opposition in the Europa League, defeating Lille and Nice at home in the League Phase this season by 2-1 scores.

Following a near-flawless League Phase, Olympique Lyonnais return to European action this week, in rough form domestically of late.

Paulo Fonseca’s men won seven of their eight matches in the previous phase of this tournament but will enter Thursday’s action without a win in their last four competitive fixtures.

This is the second successive time that they have reached this stage of the Europa League, while this team have only been eliminated once in their previous five appearances in the round of 16, falling to CSKA Moscow in 2018.

Lyon have not lost any of their previous six Europa League knockout affairs away from home in normal time, with that lone defeat coming at Old Trafford to Manchester United in a heartbreaking second-leg quarter-final extra-time outing last season.

Their only defeat in the competition this season came in Spain against Real Betis in November (2-0), though they have never lost a knockout fixture against a La Liga opponent in the Europa League.

Celta Vigo Europa League form:

Celta Vigo form (all competitions):

Lyon Europa League form:

Lyon form (all competitions):

Team News

Heading into this fixture, Celta Vigo are relatively healthy, with only one injury to report as Pablo Duran Fernandez is still dealing with a knee ligament problem, leaving him doubtful for Thursday.

Williot Swedberg scored two of their three goals in their knockout playoff tie, including the winner in the second leg at home, while Ionut Radu did not have to make a single stop for the clean sheet.

At Lyon, Afonso Moreira and Pavel Sulc have hamstring strains, Ainsley Maitland-Niles has adductor pain, Malick Fofana is recovering from a sore ankle, Ruben Kluivert is dealing with a muscle issue and Ernest Nuamah will be sidelined with a cruciate ligament injury.

Remi Stephane Himbert, Khalis Merah, Adam Karabec and Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez all scored in their previous Europa League triumph over PAOK (4-2), with the latter loaned to Ligue 2 side Annecy in early February.

Celta Vigo possible starting lineup:

Radu; Rodriguez, Starfelt, Alonso, Carreira; Vecino; Aspas, Moriba; Rueda, Iglesias, Swedberg

Lyon possible starting lineup:

Greif; Mata, Niakhate, Hateboer; Tagliafico, Tessmann, Nartey, Abner; Karabec, Tolisso; Yaremchuk

We say: Celta Vigo 0-0 Lyon

Patience is a virtue, and both teams display plenty of that and are each well-disciplined defensively, thus, we anticipate this opening match to be more of a feel-out affair between the two.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.