Liverpool vs Lyon Predictions

It’s not been a happy pre-season for Liverpool, who’ve now lost against Dortmund, Sevilla and Napoli. After their heavy defeat last time out, Jurgen Klopp’s men will be looking to improve. In contrast, Lyon will be hoping for much of the same after they got the better of Arsenal in London on Sunday.

While Liverpool were trounced by Napoli on Sunday, Lyon enjoyed themselves at The Emirates, as they came from behind to beat Arsenal. They didn’t get off to the perfect start, as they conceded 11 first-half shots, six of which hit the target, while they were a goal down before the break, though things improved considerably in the second period. The French side offered much more going forward after half-time, before a Moussa Dembele brace allowed them to win the game.

Having notched a pleasing six goals in three games, scoring has been no problem for Lyon in pre-season, though they have struggled to keep teams at bay. Three warm-up matches have yielded zero clean sheets, while Sylvinho’s men have shipped a worrying total of seven. After their efforts in London, they’ll fancy themselves to hurt a Liverpool side that has struggled in pre-season, but they’ll have to tighten up at the back.

Not having their regular front three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah has of course held Liverpool back in pre-season, but they have had the rest of the of their squad, so they can’t be completely forgiven. The fact that they’ve not been thriving going forward is understandable, though the fact that they’ve struggled at the back isn’t.

In their last five warm-up games, Liverpool have kept zero clean sheets and have conceded a total of 11 goals. They’ve conceded at least twice in four of those five. Such numbers will fill Lyon with confidence, as will the fact that Liverpool have surrendered expected goals figures of 1.32, 1.93, 1.9 and 2.07 in their last four.

Pre-season friendlies don’t count for much, though the fact that Liverpool have found life very tough without their front three is worrying, especially as there’s some concern over whether they’ll make the start of the new Premier League campaign.

Despite their struggles, Liverpool come into this match as red-hot favourites, though it’s easy to feel that they’re far too short. Without their key attacking players, the Reds have looked no better than ordinary during pre-season, while they’ve also struggled massively at the back. Lyon haven’t been great at the back, but they came to boil when beating Arsenal last time out and will thus be confident.

Quite simply, the disparity in prices isn’t a fair reflection of the gap between the two teams, so a small punt on Lyon to gain a positive result offers punters some value.