Analysis and prediction for MU vs Lyon: A late explosion at Old Trafford.
The Europa League match between MU and Lyon will take place at 2:00 AM on April 18th. Nghe An Newspaper analyzes the teams' form, provides football commentary, and predicts the score.
Latest Manchester United vs Lyon team news
Manchester United will be without Joshua Zirkzee, who suffered a hamstring injury in the defeat to Newcastle and will miss "a few games," according to manager Amorim. He joins Matthijs de Ligt, Amad Diallo, Ayden Heaven (ankle), Lisandro Martinez (knee), Jonny Evans (back), and Toby Collyer (leg) on the injury list.
With young talent Chido Obi-Martin ineligible to play in European competitions, Rasmus Hojlund will almost certainly be the only available center forward. He could be supported by Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho – who recently ended a 27-game goalless streak with a goal against Newcastle.
Andre Onana missed last weekend's match to "temporarily relieve his stress," but he is likely to return as the starting goalkeeper in place of Altay Bayindir on Thursday.
Harry Maguire and Patrick Dorgu are expected to return to the starting lineup at centre-back and left-back, respectively. In midfield, Casemiro and Mason Mount will compete for a starting spot alongside Manuel Ugarte.
On Lyon's side, winger Ernest Nuamah will be out for the rest of the season due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Malick Fofana is also unavailable due to a knee problem.
Rayan Cherki – who has been involved in 11 Europa League appearances this season (3 goals, 8 assists) – will continue to be the biggest hope in attack, alongside Thiago Almada and one of the two strikers Lacazette or Mikautadze.
Matic could be rested to make way for Jordan Veretout, while Paul Akouokou could be recalled in midfield. In defense, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Clinton Mata, and Nicolas Tagliafico are all ready to start.
Latest predicted lineups for MU vs Lyon
Manchester United:
Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Yoro; Dalot, Ugarte, Casemiro, Dorgu; Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund
Lyon:
Perri; Maitland-Niles, Mata, Niakhate, Tagliafico; Vererout, Tolisso, Akouokou; Almada; Cherki, Mikautadze
Latest Manchester United vs Lyon football match prediction
Following a heated exchange with Nemanja Matic before the first leg, Andre Onana failed to prove the critics wrong, making mistakes that led to both goals conceded, helping Lyon secure a dramatic draw at home.
Joshua Zirkzee seemed poised to give Man United the win in the 88th minute, but Rayan Cherki – who has been linked with a move to Old Trafford – capitalized on an Onana error to score the equalizer in the 95th minute with a superb finish, making it 2-2.
Things got even worse for Man United last weekend when they suffered a heavy 1-4 defeat away to Newcastle in the Premier League, in a game plagued by further individual errors – their 14th defeat of the season in the domestic league, officially marking their lowest points total in the Premier League era.
Currently, the Red Devils are ranked 14th with only 38 points after 32 rounds and could easily drop to 17th place by the end of the season. Their hopes of qualifying for European competition through the Premier League are almost impossible, as they are 10 points behind the top 8 and 17 points behind the top 5.
Understanding that winning the Europa League is their only way to secure a Champions League spot next season, Manchester United must win on Thursday. Despite losing their last two home games against French teams (PSG in 2019 and 2020), they have never lost to Lyon in their five previous encounters (two wins, three draws), and remain the only unbeaten team in this season's Europa League (six wins, five draws).
For Lyon, after the draw in the first leg, they still have a chance to win their first European title in history and reach the semi-finals of a European cup competition for the first time since the 2019-20 Champions League. Last weekend, they continued their momentum by beating Auxerre 3-1 in Ligue 1 with goals from Cherki, Mikautadze, and Lacazette.
Lyon are currently fourth in Ligue 1 and are just one point behind Marseille – who hold the last direct Champions League spot. They have won seven of their last nine matches in all competitions since the beginning of March, scoring 24 goals.
Notably, Lyon are unbeaten in 12 consecutive away matches in the Europa League (9 wins, 3 draws) since their 0-1 defeat to Atalanta in December 2017. They have also only lost one of their last nine away matches in England in European competitions – a 0-3 defeat to West Ham in the 2021–22 season.
However, Lyon have never beaten Man United in their five previous encounters – only slightly behind the longest winless streak against Barcelona (8 matches). They have also lost both of their away matches at Old Trafford (2-1 in 2004 and 1-0 in 2008), and have never progressed beyond the European knockout stage after a draw at home – a feat they have repeated nine times before.
Latest MU vs Lyon score prediction
Based on the above football analysis, we and leading football websites worldwide have provided our predictions for the match.MU vs Lyonas follows:
- Sportsmole:MU 3-1 Lyon
- WhoScore:MU 3-2 Lyon
- Our newspaper predicts:MU 3-2 Lyon
When and where can I watch the MU vs Lyon match live?
To watch the MU vs Lyon match live in the Europa League, taking place at 2:00 AM on April 18th, viewers can tune in to the following channels:K+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. We hope you enjoy watching football.
