Preview: Lyon vs Red Bull Salzburg - prediction, team news, lineups

Meeting for the first time on the European stage, Lyon will welcome Red Bull Salzburg to Groupama Stadium on matchday two of the Europa League campaign on Thursday.

On matchday one, Les Gones found a way past Utrecht 1-0, while the Austrians were beaten by that same score versus Portuguese giants Porto.

Match preview

To this stage of the new season, Lyon have gotten by thanks to an airtight defensive setup, while sneaking in a goal amid their opponents’ frustrations.

Five of their six competitive victories thus far were by a 1-0 score as this new-look team have bought into a different way of playing under Jorge Maciel, the temporary head coach with Paulo Fonseca suspended.

This club have been incredibly consistent in Europe through the years, particularly at home where they have lost just three of their last 29 matches played in European tournaments.

Over that span, they are averaging 2.1 goals per game in Lyon, scoring in five of their six contests at Groupama Stadium in this competition last season.

On Thursday, they can secure consecutive Europa League clean sheets for the first time since 2021, having won their first two group fixtures that season by a combined margin of 5-0.

The only previous time OL faced a side from Austria in Europe was in the 1997 Intertoto Cup, with Les Gones coming away 2-0 triumph against Austria Vienna in their old home at Stade Gerland.

We saw another poor start to a European League Phase season for Salzburg the last time out, as they failed to score on matchday one, despite four efforts on target.

In this phase of the Champions League last season, it was a similar story for the Austrians, who failed to net in five of their eight fixtures, including their opening three League Phase affairs, while losing seven of their eight contests.

Salzburg have not won an away match in this competition since their final group fixture in December 2018, defeating Celtic in Glasgow on that occasion 3-1.

Their previous five Europa League away fixtures all ended in defeat, with this side conceding two or more goals in each of those instances.

Thomas Letsch has seen his team win two of their previous three away matches across all competitions, including a narrow 2-1 victory at WSG Tirol on Sunday.

Die Rotten Bullen have lost their last three European contests versus French clubs, with their only away victory in France taking place in 2017 at Nice (2-0).

Lyon Europa League form:

Lyon form (all competitions):

Red Bull Salzburg Europa League form:

Red Bull Salzburg form (all competitions):

Team News

Cruciate ligament injuries to Orel Mangala and Ernest Nuamah kept them out of the Lyon fold this past weekend, while Remy Descamps is likely to miss another week or two after hurting his wrist in a Ligue 1 defeat to Rennes earlier this month.

Tanner Tessmann scored 15 minutes from the end to give them maximum points on matchday one of the Europa League, while Dominik Greif made two stops to collect the clean sheet.

Salzburg were missing several players on matchday one, as Justin Omoregie was sidelined with an Achilles tendon rupture, Anrie Chase had an adductor strain and Valentin Sulzbacher sat out because of an ankle issue.

Knee injuries, meanwhile, left John Olof Mellberg and Takumu Kawamura out of the lineup against Porto, while Karim Konate did not feature due to a cruciate ligament tear.

Lyon possible starting lineup:

Grief; Kluivert, Mata, Niakhate, Tagliafico; Tessmann, De Carvalho; Moreira, Sulc, Fofana; Satriano

Red Bull Salzburg possible starting lineup:

Schalger; Lainer, Gadou, Rasmussen, Terzic; Kjaergaard, Diabate; Yeo, Gourna-Douath; Ratkov, Baidoo

We say: Lyon 2-0 Red Bull Salzburg

Lyon seem happy to sit back and wait for their opportunity to strike, and we do not believe Salzburg have the resources to trouble a side as compact and organised as them.

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