Lyon V Zenit St Petersburg
Tuesday 17th September 2019 – 17:55 Kick-Off
UEFA Champions League
Pick: Both Teams to Score
Odds: 20/21
Bookmaker: Bet365
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 67/100 | 29/10 | 21/5 |
* (All betting odds displayed were correct as of 15th September 2019 at 11:50)
Preview: The Russian Premier League champions embark on the long trip to France, with Zenit St Petersburg seeking maximum points from this opening encounter in Group G but must somehow find a way to overcome host Lyon. The Ligue 1 outfit were a tough nut to crack on their own patch during last season’s competition, holding the likes of Barcelona and Man City to draws at their Groupama Stadium.
UEFA Champions League Betting – 22Bet
Lyon Preview – Dip in form dampens hosts prospects?
In last season’s opening game of the group stage, Lyon produced a significant upset when leaving Manchester with all three points following an impressive 2-1 victory over Pep Guardiola’s Man City. They would not win another game thereafter, despite successfully progressing from the group as runners-up (W1 D5 L0). Barcelona would bring an abrupt end to their participation in the knockouts, winning 5-1 in Spain after a 0-0 draw in France.
Lyon have often been an enigmatic side, difficult to predict. So to beat a team tipped by many as favourites for glory, defeating Man City away from home no less, but not managing another win in the remainder of the tournament is as baffling as it gets. Less unpredictable was the fact each of their three group stage fixtures as the home side finished in 2-2 scorelines.
Another 2-2 draw could be on the cards here, especially after what transpired on Friday. Sylvinho’s team were held to that very same scoreline away at Amiens in Ligue 1, conceding in stoppage time of the second half to relinquish a 2-1 advantage. That result made it three league fixtures without winning (D2 L1), as Les Gones continue to frustrate ever since beginning the campaign in style with high-scoring triumphs over Monaco (0-3) and Angers (6-0).
It was a surprise to see Memphis Depay not selected among the starters on Friday, perhaps rested with this game in mind. The mercurial Dutchman should come straight back into the side here alongside strike partner Moussa Dembele, who notched his fifth league goals of the season in that disappointing outcome at Amiens.
Zenit Preview – Confident Russians could be a nuisance?
No strangers to Champions League group stages are Zenit St Petersburg, who are the reigning domestic champions in Russia and are making their seventh appearance at this stage of the tournament. The most recent of those, however, was back in 2015-16. The three subsequent seasons were all spent in the Europa League, a competition they managed to top their group in last season before eventually exiting in the last-sixteen to Spanish side Valencia.
Interestingly, Zenit were drawn alongside the same opposition, Lyon, during that aforementioned 2015-16 edition of the competition and prevailed in both encounters, winning 3-1 at home and 2-0 in France. However, any likelihood of the latter repeating itself here would appear slim based on how the team performed on their travels in Europe last season – failing to win any of their three group fixtures in either Bordeaux (1-1), Copenhagen (1-1) or Slavia Prague (2-0).
On a more positive note, Sergei Semak’s side did make a winning return to domestic football at the weekend. Forward Artem Dzyuba scored both goals on Zenit’s last visit to Lyon, in that 2-0 victory four years ago, and his fifth league goal of the season helped his side record a 3-1 success at home to Arsenal Tula on Friday night. It was an important result, as it maintained not only the team’s strong start but kept them top of the Russian Premier League (W6 D2 L1).
Lyon V Zenit St Petersburg Key Facts:
- Lyon have failed to win any of their previous three matches (D2 L1) and were held to a 2-2 draw at Amiens on Friday.
- Zenit maintained their fine start to the season by beating Arsenal Tula 3-1 on Friday in the Russian Premier League (W6 D2 L1).
- These clubs met during the 2015-16 Champions League group stage: Zenit triumphed in both encounters, winning 3-1 at home and 2-0 in France.
Betting Summary
Nobody was more irritated than I was on Friday when Lyon conceded with only minutes remaining to draw 2-2 at Amiens, after predicting they would come away with maximum points. In fairness, they deserved to win based on the quality of chances created, but for all the threat posed in the attacking third this team continues to leak unnecessary goals. It is now no clean sheet in the past three matches, winning none (D2 L1).
It was an ideal warm up for Zenit on Friday, dispatching of Arsenal Tula 3-1 at home to continue their strong domestic campaign which has seen them lose once all season (W6 D2 L1). That one loss did occur away from home but can be negated by victories in all four of their other away encounters (W4 L1 away from home in 2019-20 RPL), all of which were without conceding. Another win ‘to nil’ seems unlikely here but there is no reason why Sergei Semak’s side won’t cause problems of their own.
This Lyon team remain impressive in the offensive third but vulnerable in defence, which makes me believe there could be opportunities in this game for both sides. Zenit have only failed to find the net on one occasion on their travels this season, so should ask questions here against a Lyon rearguard which can only be low on confidence following recent results. Preference is for Lyon, though, with Lyon & Both Teams to Score at 3/1 with Boylesports worth chancing.
