Lyon vs Brøndby: No chance for the Danish champion

Lyon are off to a winning start in the Europa League and now have a great chance to consolidate their lead in the group. The Lions take on Brøndby at home. Can they beat the reigning Danish champions?

After a poor start to the season, Lyon have more or less recovered, picking up four wins in their last six games in all competitions. They started with a 2-0 away win over Glasgow Rangers in the Europa League, which put them at the top of their group. In the league, things are not going so well, 7th place after eight rounds. The situation with the Lions’ squad has only worsened. Tino Kadewere and Moussa Dembele were already out of action, with Islam Slimani being called up the day before. Young defender Malo Gusto also suffered a recent injury. Jason Denayer and Lenny Pintor will also not play.

Last weekend, Lyon hosted Lorient and settled for a 1-1 draw. As early as 15 minutes, Emerson was sent off for a last-minute foul, leaving the club in an unenviable situation. And the foul didn’t help. Peter Bosch’s men conceded the first goal from a free-kick, but then, even when held back, they restored the balance. Before Ekambi’s goal, Lucas Paqueta had a good chance, and Lyon continued to look better than their opponents. The Lions defended well, and the opponents created no chances after the scored goal.

Denmark’s reigning champions cannot yet boast stability this season. They won only 2 of their ten home league games and sit 8th in the table, and in the Europa League, Brønnby got off to a 0-0 start with a draw against Sparta Prague. The team’s poor start can be attributed to the departure of one of their attacking leaders and chief creative officer Jesper Lindström to Eintracht. His replacement, Mathias Greve, notched up just 1 point, and Mikael Uhre, who has scored eight goals this season, is plying his trade for everyone in the attack. That said, in the Danish Superliga, Brøndby have been beating mostly local giants (Middtjælland, Aalborg) while they have problems against weaker opponents. As for the squad, Rasmus Wikström will certainly not be available against Lyon, while defender Blas Riveros is also questionable.

Last week, Niels Frederiksen’s side secured a 2-1 home win over Aalborg. Brøndby went into the break having conceded the lead, although they kept the ball longer and looked just as good as their opponents. In the 2nd half, Mikael Uhre stepped up, and, thanks to his goal, he became the game's main hero.

There is no question about Lyon’s play of late. In the last ten days, a decent match against PSG, a win against Troyes, and a draw against Lorient inspire more optimism. Yes, three of the team’s forwards were out of action, but Slimani came off the bench even in the absence of Dembele and Kadewere, and the Lions still created chances. Brøndby also had to rebuild in the off-season, and their football is now far from championship football. In Week 1, the Danes got a home draw with Sparta, but it will be even tougher away. I propose to bet on the following outcomes:

• W1 to nil for 1.86;
• Handicap 1 (-2) for 2.05;
• Lyon to score in both halves for 1.71.