Qarabag vs Lyon Prediction & Betting Tips (28 November)

It has been several years now since Qarabag made a name for itself on the European scene. This Azerbaijan club has in fact been very often present in the Europa League for several seasons and was notably able to play in the 1/8 finals of the tournament last year where it was beaten at the very end of the return match by Bayer Leverkusen. However, it is more complicated for this team this year. The Cavaliers first lost their first 3 contested matches against Tottenham 3-0, Malmo 1-2 and Ajax Amsterdam 0-3 before finally returning to success against Bodo-Glimt at the start of the month 1-2 . This victory therefore allowed them to move up to 29th place in the ranking, a short distance from 24th place. In his own championship, the one nicknamed the "Barcelona of the Caucasus" leads the way with a small lead over his first pursuer but a match behind. Saturday, they go to the Sebail field.

For its part, Olympique Lyonnais is also a strong place on a European scale, thanks in particular to its good performances in C1 during the 2000s but also more recently with a half -final contested during the final 8 in 2020. In this Europa League, the French started ideally with successes against Olympiakos 2-0 and Rangers 1-4 before losing against Besiktas 0-1. Finally, on the last day, Les Gones thought they had snatched a victory against Hoffenheim before conceding the equalizer a few seconds later 2-2. Also, they are in 9th position in the ranking, 2 lengths behind the top 8. In Ligue 1, the Rhone residents are gradually getting closer to the podium after their success against Saint-Etienne before the break 1-0. On Saturday, OL travel to Reims with the desire to get on track. 

A priori, Qarabag should be able to count on all of its strengths for this match except defensive midfielder Julio Romao who was sent off during the 3rd day and who still has one match to serve. The Azerbaijanis should, however, be able to count on their former Ligue 1 residents, the former Lyonnais Benzia (3 goals in the league) and the former Lensois Zoubir (2 goals). With 4 goals scored each, defender Bayramov and midfielder Leandro Andrade share the lead in their team's league scorers rankings. The first city also scored a superb volley on the last day to put his team on the right track against Bodo/Glimt.Lyon will make the long trip to Azerbaijan without the former starting goalkeeper Lopes who is still sidelined by his club.

Also left out in the derby against Saint-Etienne, right-back Kumbedi and attackers Benrahma and Orban are all applying for a place in the group. The vast majority of executives in this OL squad should be able to play this match, starting with general Alexandre Lacazette who scored a very nice half-volley against Hoffenheim before continuing against ASSE. Further down, we could also find the very talented Cherki who is the real detonator of this team with the young Belgian Fofana. The two men will probably leave this winter following the club's major financial difficulties.