Lyon vs Zenit St Petersburg Predictions

Lyon face a tricky return to European action this week, with the Ligue 1 giants hosting Zenit St Petersburg. The hosts will be pushing to match last season’s run to the last 16, despite their big summer of sales. Meanwhile, it’s a long-awaited return to this level for Zenit, who return to the Champions League following a three and a half year absence.

Lyon have made a mixed start in Ligue 1 this term, with eight points from their opening five matches. The hosts have their eyes set on another top-three finish, but they will need to up their game moving forward. However, summer departures of Ferland Mendy, Tanguy Ndombele and Nabil Fekir have hit them hard.

Zenit have a slight edge here, given that they are further along in their season than Lyon. The visitors have already played nine times this season, while they’ve kicked off with a strong start that has put them in first place. That’s form which Zenit will be aiming to build on, given that they lost their last three matches in this competition.

Zenit will be out to continue their good record on the road, having won four out of five trips domestically. However, they are in for a sterner test against Lyon. The hosts may have sold off stars, but they are a club primed for that. After all, they still have Moussa Dembele and Memphis Depay up front, who have scored five and four goals respectively from just four appearances.

Strong displays from the likes of Bertrand Traore and Houssem Aouar are encouraging, as was their return of 13 goals in eight matches in Europe last term. Goals were flying in for the French side, both teams scored in 100% of their group stage matches. With key attacking talents still there, we can see a repeat.

Zenit have scored in seven of their last eight in this competition. They have also hit six goals across their last three meetings with Lyon. Given that form, we expect more goals on Tuesday. Both teams to score is our pick for this clash, with Zenit keeping one clean sheet in their last six outings on the road in this competition.

We’re also backing the draw on Tuesday, with the hosts seeing plenty of level matches in the Champions League of late. They have lost just one of their last 11 games in the competition, but they have drawn six of the last seven. Lyon finished the group stage with five successive draws, so we think a 1-1 correct score is a solid bet.