Rangers vs Lyon Predictions

• After a poor start to the season, Lyon have won their last two Ligue 1 games against Nantes (0-1) and Strasbourg (3-1).
• Rangers have won five of their last six matches in all competitions (D1), though they lost 2-1 to Malmo here in Champions League Qualifying.

Group A favourites to share the spoils at Ibrox

Rangers and Lyon look set to fight out top spot in Group A and we should witness a close encounter when the sides square off at Ibrox on Matchday 1 this Thursday night.

Winning the group in this year’s competition brings huge reward as it means direct qualification for the last 16, while the runners-up have to face a play-off against one of the eliminated Champions League sides.

These two teams are likely to prove superior to Brondby and Sparta Prague, but they won’t rest on their laurels considering what’s at stake. Lyon are the bookies’ favourites to edge out Rangers, though the SPL champions will be out to prove them wrong this Thursday with home advantage an obvious positive.

Rangers have won five of their last six games in all competitions (D1) and six of their last seven starts at Ibrox (L1), however, they were defeated 1-2 by Malmo here in Champions League Qualifying, which indicates they have to improve markedly to seriously mix it with the best sides in this competition.

Lyon finished fourth in France last term, and after a shaky start to the new campaign, they come into this tie on the back on consecutive victories against Nantes (0-1) and Strasbourg (3-1). Peter Bosz’ side are packed full of quality despite some key departures in the summer and they’ll be gunning to build further momentum in Glasgow this week.

Overall, we envisage this being an even, hard fought contest between two very good teams, and a draw is perhaps the most probable result.

It’s an outcome both managers would probably take to get up and running, and we’re also tipping up a 1-1 correct score with Gers netting in six of their last seven and Lyon failing to score in just one of their five games this term.