Lyon vs Valencia Betting Tips

This looks like a fairly weak but wide open group and the opening day results appeared to confirm that. Valencia were beaten 3-2 at home by Zenit while Lyon drew 1-1 with outsiders Gent.

It wasn’t an ideal start for either side and neither manager will be too pleased with how they’ve started the season. Valencia couldn’t have wished for a kinder opening 6 league fixtures but they’ve found goalscoring incredibly hard to come by and have only found the net 3 times in La Liga so far. They still have nine points to show for their efforts but almost every game has followed the same pattern against sides who have come to defend and Valencia have only occasionally been good enough to break them down.

This game is highly unlikely to follow that pattern as Lyon will be far more positive than their recent domestic opponents and the French club will absolutely set out to win the game. They’ve not been great in the league either though and are only 6th after 8 matches and are already 8 points behind PSG, who they pushed pretty close for the Ligue 1 title last year.

It is 4 years since Stade de Gerland hosted a Champions League group stage game so there is sure to be a lively atmosphere on Tuesday night. This Lyon side isn’t as good as the one that were a real force in Europe with the likes of Michael Essien, Juninho Pernambucano, and Karim Benzema to call on but they are still a strong side and given how well French clubs did in this competition last year, they are well capable of getting out of this group.

Valencia have spent a lot of money over the summer but they just haven’t really got going yet. The late departure of Nicolas Otamendi has left them with a hole to fill at the back and the better sides are likely to be capable of exploiting it. They were beaten 2-1 at Monaco in the play-off round 2nd leg and suffered a poor 3-2 home defeat to Zenit on their return to the group stages a fortnight ago.

Their poor form extends right back into pre-season and they just haven’t put in a really convincing display so far and as such are difficult to confidently back to win a tough game like this. Lyon are the more settled side you feel and have brought in some good experience including French international Mathieu Valbuena and that might just see them over the line on a night like this where there is little to choose between the sides. You can back either side at 5/6 in the ‘Draw No Bet’ market but Lyon look much better value for it.

This is a similar kind of task to the one Valencia faced against French opposition in Monaco to make it to the group stages. A 2-1 defeat then was good enough to progress and although they will appreciate the space that more attacking opponents will grant them, this could be another real test of their defensive steel or perhaps lack of it and a repeat result seems likely.

There has long been the accusation that Valencia are a bit soft on the road and although it’s not completely the case, a pumped up Lyon side with vocal backing are worth a bet at 9/1 to enjoy their home return in this competition with a 2-1 win.