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Europa League | Group Stage
Sep 16, 2021 at 8pm UK
Ibrox Stadium
Lyon
Rangers
0 - 2
Lyon

Goldson (14'), Aribo (74'), Morelos (75')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Toko Ekambi (23'), Tavernier (55' og.)
Slimani (30'), Boateng (53')

Preview: Rangers vs. Lyon - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Thursday's Europa League clash between Rangers and Lyon, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Scottish Premiership champions Rangers will host Ligue 1 giants Lyon in their opening Group A clash of the Europa League on Thursday night.

The two sides last faced each other in the 2007-08 Champions League group stages, and on both occasions the away side won 3-0.


Match preview

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard pictured on August 3, 2021© Reuters

After an historic invincible title triumph last season, Rangers were hoping to follow that up with qualification for the Champions League. However, a disappointing 4-2 loss on aggregate to Malmo last month ended their dreams of competing in Europe's elite competition for the first time in a decade.

Since then, the Gers secured a narrow 1-0 aggregate win against Armenian outfit Alashkert in the Europa League playoffs, earning them a place in this season's group stage for the fourth successive year.

Steven Gerrard's men extended their unbeaten run across all competitions to six matches with a 2-1 away victory against St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership last weekend. A stunning 79th-minute strike from captain James Tavernier helped Rangers come from behind to claim all three points and climb to the top of the table.

The Gers, who have failed to win each of their last eight matches against French opposition, now turn their attention to their opening Europa League clash against Lyon, with Gerrard hoping his side can get off to a strong start against one of the tournament favourites.

Rangers are currently unbeaten in their last 10 Europa League group-stage matches, and they have also lost only four of their last 27 European games, so they should be confident heading into Thursday's encounter.

Lyon's Moussa Dembele celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates in August 2021© Reuters

After a poor start to the new Ligue 1 campaign, claiming just one point from a possible nine available, Lyon have since won their last two league games, beating Nantes and Strasbourg.

Strikes from Moussa Dembele, Jason Denayer and Lucas Paqueta helped Peter Bosz's men secure a 3-1 win against Strasbourg last weekend and their first on home soil this campaign.

Away from home, Lyon have had a contrasting start to the new season, suffering a 3-0 defeat to Angers before claiming a narrow 1-0 win against Nantes, with both games seeing the visitors reduced to 10 men.

Bosz's side will need to find their consistency when they participate in the Europa League if they wish to go all the way and win their first piece of silverware since 2011-12, when they lifted the Coupe de France.

Lyon travel to Ibrox after losing only one of their 18 Europa League group-stage matches and they have also suffered just one defeat in their previous nine group-stage away games in the competition, winning and drawing four games each.

Rangers Europa League form:
  • W
  • W

Rangers form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • W

Lyon form (all competitions):
  • D
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • W


Team News

Bayer Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz pictured on February 21, 2021© Reuters

Rangers centre-back Connor Goldson will be available for selection on Thursday after completing a spell in self-isolation.

The 28-year-old is set to replace Swedish defender Filip Helander, who is to undergo surgery after picking up a knee injury against St Johnstone.

Winger Ianis Hagi is also ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19, while midfielder Ryan Jack continues to recover from a calf injury.

Left-back Borna Barisic, who was an unused substitute last weekend, could be recalled to the starting lineup ahead of Calvin Bassey, while either Allan McGregor or Jon McLaughlin will be handed a start in goal.

As for Lyon, Leo Dubois (calf), Tino Kadewere (muscle), Lenny Pintor (knee) and Jeff Reine-Adelaide (knee) are all ruled out with injuries.

Summer recruits Xherdan Shaqiri and Jerome Boateng made their debuts for the club last weekend, with the latter coming off the bench. Both players will be in contention to start on Thursday.

Former Celtic striker Dembele, who has scored seven goals in nine appearances against Rangers, is expected to start as the lone striker, with support provided in attack by the likes of Karl Toko Ekambi and Houssem Aouar.

Rangers possible starting lineup:
McLaughlin; Tavernier, Goldson, Balogun, Barisic; Aribo, Davis, Kamara; Roofe, Morelos, Kent

Lyon possible starting lineup:
Lopes; Gusto, Diomande, Denayer, Emerson; Caqueret, Guimaraes; Shaqiri, Aouar, Toko Ekambi; Dembele


SM words green background

We say: Rangers 1-2 Lyon

Both sides have seemingly turned a corner after a slight blip in the early stages of the new campaign, and will now be keen to build on their improved form by securing all three points in their opening Group A clash.

Even though Rangers will have close to 50,000 roaring supporters behind them at Ibrox, we feel that the attacking threat Lyon possess will cause the hosts problems on Thursday.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Rangers win with a probability of 53.78%. A win for Lyon had a probability of 24.53% and a draw had a probability of 21.7%.

The most likely scoreline for a Rangers win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.62%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (7.51%) and 2-0 (7.48%). The likeliest Lyon win was 1-2 (6.21%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (9.66%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 3.1% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Rangers vs Lyon

Rangers
40.8%
Draw
19.5%
Lyon
39.7%
287
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Lyon striker Moussa Dembele pictured in February 2020
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
QWest Ham650115
QFreiburg640212
3Olympiacos62137
4Backa Topola60151

Group B

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QBrighton641113
QMarseille632111
3Ajax61235
4AEK Athens61144

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
QRangers632111
QSparta Prague631210
3Betis63039
4Aris Limassol61144

Group D

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QAtalanta642014
QSporting Lisbon632111
3Sturm Graz61144
4Rakow61144

Group E

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QLiverpool640212
QToulouse632111
3Union SG62228
4LASK61053

Group F

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QVillarreal641113
QRennes640212
3M. Haifa61235
4Panathinaikos61144

Group G

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QSlavia Prague650115
QRoma641113
3Servette61235
4Sheriff Tiraspol60151

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
QB. Leverkusen660018
QQarabag631210
3Molde62137
4Hacken60060

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