FCSB, better known as Steaua Bucharest, will host the first leg of their tie with Lyon in the Round of 16 of the Europa League, hoping to secure advantage before going to France for the rematch.
The Romanian champions didn't have the best start of the season, but after those initial struggles, they have been doing some impressive things in both domestic championship and Europe.
Still, they've failed to finish in Top 8 in the Europa League group phase, unlike their next opponent Lyon, although the two teams were only separated by one point in the standings.
So, Lyon were free in the first round of the Europa League knockouts, while FCSB had a tough task against PAOK and they've passed this test with flying colours and a couple of wins, so the hosts will be hoping for a good result against the French team on Thursday.
How the bookies view it: Lyon the clear favourites
Despite Steaua's great run of form and just one loss in their last 12 games across the board, the bookies see Lyon as the favourites with 4/5 odds on the French team at BoyleSports.
This is a bit surprising when we consider both team's performances in the Europa League so far, with them being pretty much on par with each other, but Lyon are the more reputable team in Europe, at least in the past couple of decades, and FCSB also have some injury issues to deal with.
In any case, the odds on the hosts at BoyleSports are 14/5, while a draw is priced at 13/5.
Head to head: Advantage Lyon
These two teams have met four times before, each time in the Champions League group stages, back in 2006 and 2008. Three of those four games have ended with wins for Lyon, while FCSB managed to avoid a loss once, but not win, with their 2006 duel in France ending 1-1.
Players to watch: Experience valued at this stage
With FCSB's top scorer this season Daniel Birligea likely out with an injury, the hosts will have to rely on other players to provide goals, like David Miculescu (7/2 to score anytime at Boylesports) and Andrei Gheorghita (10/3 to score anytime at Boylesports). Still, when it comes to the home team, we expect to see the most from Florin Tanase, who has the most experience in this team and has so far notched one goal and three assists in the Europa League.
On the other hand, Lyon will rely on the experience and quality of Alexandre Lacazette and we would expect to see him score his fourth goal in the Europa League this season at 13/8 odds at BoyleSports.
Probable line-ups
Injuries are a big problem for FCSB heading into this duel. We already mentioned that the hosts will likely again be without their top scorer this season Birligea, but a few more players are currently out, including Alexandru Pantea, William Baeten, Octavian Popescu, Darius Olaru, and Mihai Lixandru. Meanwhile, Valentin Cretu will miss the match due to accumulated yellow cards.
Lyon are in a much better situation when it comes to health than their next opponents since their only player likely to miss this match is Abner Vinicius.
FCSB: Tarnovanu, Chiriches, Popescu, Dawa, Radunovic, Sut, Edjouma, Miculescu, Tanase, Cisotti, Gheorghita
Lyon: Perri, Kumbedi, Mata, Niakhate, Tagliafico, Tessmann, Matic, Cherki, Tolisso, Nuamah, Lacazette
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams have scored in six of the last seven Lyon's matches in all competitions and with FCSB's injuries and suspensions, the guests will likely be able to score in this game. Meanwhile, FCSB will host the game and have enough on the front end to threaten the French team, so both teams to score at 7/10 odds sounds like a good bet.
Also, despite all their issues, FCSB have remained in great form lately and they have eliminated a solid team like PAOK in the first knockout round by winning in both legs. So, with all due respect to Lyon, we can see FCSB putting up a good fight here and avoiding a loss, which is why a double chance at even odds at Boylesports sounds quite tempting.
This UEFA Europa League match between FCSB and Lyon will be played on and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best FCSB vs Lyon prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
