Struggling Everton look to get their Europa League campaign back on track with a win but face a tough challenge as they welcome last season’s Semi-Finalists Lyon to Goodison Park.
UEFA Europa League – Group E – Thursday 19th October – Goodison Park, Liverpool 20:05 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 8/1 at Betway |
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Everton
LyonEverton Form
Everton are having an extremely poor season, currently sitting sixteenth in the English Premier League and still looking for their first group stage win in this competition. Domestically, they have won just one in their last seven league games. In this competition, their last victory came at home to Hajduk Split in the first leg of the play-off round back in August.
An 88th minute equaliser cost them victory in their last group match, as Apollon Limassol earned themselves a hard-fought 2-2 away draw. Pressure is mounting on manager Ronald Koeman, especially after struggling to a draw against Brighton at the weekend, and he knows he must motivate his team to a match-winning performance here.
Lyon Form
Lyon aren’t having the best of seasons, with just two league wins from their last seven to leave them in sixth place in the French Ligue 1. Their most recent win was a morale-boosting one though, as Fekir scored a 95th minute winner in a 3-2 victory over defending French league champions Monaco.
In this competition, they are yet to win a match but are also unbeaten. A 1-1 draw away to Apollon Limassol was followed by the same result at home to Atalanta. Worryingly, they were ahead in both games and showed a lack of killer instinct to finish their opponents off.
Four of their last six matches, in all competition, have ended level and they led in every one. They are tough to beat and, if they can turn those draws into victories, they will be a force to be reckoned with both domestically and in Europe.
Head to Head
These teams haven’t met before in competitive football, so there’s no head to head information available.
Betting Odds and Predictions
The match odds are pretty close for this match and Everton are, somewhat surprisingly, a slight favourite,
Sky Bet have the English side priced at 13/10, with Lyon at 19/10, and the draw 5/2.
We believe Lyon’s victory over Monaco at the weekend will kick start their season, and we expect them to follow that up with a win here against an Everton side who appear to be devoid of confidence at the moment.
Therefore, 19/10 looks fabulous odds.
With Lyon drawing so many games recently, punters may want to hedge their bets by backing the French side in the ‘Double Chance’ market. Lyon or Draw is priced at 4/7, which still provides plenty of profit potential.
You could alternatively use the ‘Draw No Bet’ market, where Lyon are priced at 11/10 for the win and you receive your stake back if the game finishes level.
Unfortunately, we cannot see Everton winning this match. They have failed to beat opposition a lot weaker than Lyon this season, and a draw is realistically the best they can hope for here.
As for who will score the goals to secure Lyon the win, we think punters should look no further than Mariano or Fekir. They both have seven goals apiece this season, and are 7/4 and 15/8 respectively in the anytime scorer market.
Everton have failed to score in four league matches this season, and couldn’t find the net in their first group game in this competition against Atalanta. Therefore, 3/1 for Lyon to keep a clean sheet appears to be good value.
Top Betting Tip
We truly believe Lyon will win this match, but they have had a habit of drawing games this season. So, with percentages of making a profit in mind, our top betting tip for this match is a Lyon win at odds of 11/10 in the ‘Draw No Bet’ market with Sky Bet. If they win, punters will make a healthy profit, but if they get held to another draw you will be compensated by not losing anything.