Lyon vs AZ Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Lyon all but ended this Europa League tie when they paid a visit to Dutch Eredivise side AZ last week, with Alexandre Lacazette helping his side to a 4-1 hammering of the hosts to take a more than commanding lead back to the Parc OL with them.

Lyon followed on from this victory with a 4-2 thrashing of Dijon in Ligue 1 on Sunday as well, to make it three wins from their last four matches in all competitions. They have scored four goals in all three of these victories, which is a vast improvement on their run of four defeats in five games that preceded this spell.

Their challenge for an unusually open Ligue 1 title is all but over at this point though. They sit 4th in the table with a 12 point disadvantage on 3rd placed PSG, and with them also out of both domestic cups, they will be placing a lot of emphasis on the Europa League.

AZ are also disappointing domestically, with a 1-1 draw at Willem II on Sunday making it just one win from their last five games and leaving them 5th in the Eredivisie, a point below Utrecht in 4th and only two above Twente below them.

Away from home they have been rather difficult to beat this season, but they’re facing an incredibly strong attacking side on Thursday and won’t be holding out much hope of a miraculous comeback.

At home Lyon have won five of their last six matches and scored an incredible 19 goals in the process. Seven of these goals have come via Alexandre Lacazette, and he has scored at least one goal in each of Lyon’s last seven home games. This makes him a fantastic choice for our anytime goalscorer predictions, even at odds of 1/2.

As far as the overall result goes, I’m thinking this will be another comfortable evening for the hosts. Lyon have won five of their last six at home by at least a two goal margin, and they showed their quality last week. This makes odds of 2.000 for a Lyon -1.5 Asian Handicap look very good value, so I’m backing that along with a 3-0 correct score predictions at 8/1.