Real Sociedad and Lyon occupy mid-table spots in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) table, but for the Spanish side to improve upon that, they'll have to beat French opposition for the first time in over a decade.
Match News and Current Form
Sociedad will be hurting from their 2-1 Basque derby defeat to Athletic Club on Sunday, but a return to the UEL could be the tonic for a response after their 6-0 win over Lillestrøm on matchday three got them off the mark in the competition this term (D1, L1). Pellegrino Matarazzo’s men now go in search of a third successive competitive home victory, but no matter where they play, defensive improvements are needed, as the battering of Lillestrøm was their only clean sheet in their last ten games. They’d be forgiven for expecting better at home in this competition, where a defeat to Bournemouth in their last such game is their only reversal across their last six UEL home outings (W4, D1), with three of those four wins accompanied by a clean sheet.
Lyon suffered their first UEL defeat of the season (W2) when they were swept aside by Hoffenheim on matchday three (3-0), and are now looking to avoid back-to-back main draw losses in Europe for the first time since May 2017. Les Gones will at least be pleased that after the Hoffenheim result and a 2-0 defeat to PSG in Ligue 1, they responded on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Angers, setting up the possibility here of successive wins to nil for the first time since mid-February. That seems a tall order though for a Lyon side who have won just one of their last five away games in Europe (D2, L2).
Head-to-Head History
These two sides have previously faced each other four times (W2, L2). Sociedad haven’t beaten French opposition since an August 2013 win in this H2H fixture (D2, L3), while Lyon have an identical record in their last five meetings with Spanish sides.
Hot Stats and Streaks
Seven of Sociedad’s last eight matches saw both teams score.
Nine of Sociedad’s last ten games featured over 2.5 goals.
None of Lyon’s last six European goals conceded came before first-half stoppage time.
Lyon scored in six of their last seven European away games.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Sociedad’s equaliser against Athletic came from Luka Sučić, meaning that all six of his goals this season have come away from Anoeta. Lyon’s Ernest Nuamah opened the scoring against Angers, his fifth successive goal for club or country to arrive before half-time.
Arsen Zakharyan missed Sociedad’s last game through injury, which was also the reason for Lyon midfielder Tyler Morton’s absence against Angers.
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Betting Analysis
It is hard to pick a winner here, so a draw and over 2.5 goals might be worth a punt.
Author: Alex Bowmer