Lyon would have preferred to go into the second leg without a deficit, but their poor performance led to one of last week’s surprise underdog triumphs. One positive for the Kids is their strong record against Czech sides in the past, so Sparta Prague must be prepared for the worst in the second leg.
Lyon’s defensive problems were evident once again, having been seen time and again during pre-season, but we certainly didn’t expect such a poor performance in attack as well.
The Kids have significantly more firepower, yet they failed in every aspect of the game. Their only goal came following an individual error by Suchomel, who put the ball into his own net. Corentin Tolisso, meanwhile, missed a penalty in the second half, and that remained Lyon’s best chance to score for the rest of the match.
On paper, Sparta Prague don’t look in form at all, and at the weekend they suffered a heavy defeat against Mlada Boleslav in their domestic league. So I believe their victory a week ago was mainly down to Lyon’s mistakes, rather than their own strong performance.
How the bookies view it: The Kids will crush them this time
As expected, the bookmakers are backing the French side, giving them a huge advantage ahead of the second leg.
At the moment, you can back Lyon at 1/2, whilst Sparta Prague are available at 5/1. A draw is also priced quite high at 7/2.
Recent head-to-head: Sparta Prague finally won on the seventh attempt
As I mentioned at the start, Lyon have every reason to be confident ahead of the second leg, despite having to make up at least one goal, and this is down to their record against Czech sides. In 13 matches in total against teams from that country, Lyon have suffered just three defeats (W8, D2).
Most of these matches have been against Sparta Prague, with the upcoming second leg set to be the eighth meeting between the two sides. Until a week ago, Lyon were unbeaten against Sparta in six matches (W5, D1).
Players to watch: Vinicius was flawless in the first leg
Coach Paulo Fonseca made a rather intriguing decision in the first leg to deploy Abner Vinicius on the right wing, given that the 26-year-old Brazilian is normally a left-back. And what’s even more interesting is that Vinicius was Lyon’s best player on the pitch, recording 6/6 accurate passes into the box, as well as 4/4 crosses.
In other words, they have the other forwards to blame for failing to capitalise on so many chances created.
Unfortunately, bookmakers rarely offer good markets for players in the qualifying rounds, but I’d certainly be keeping an eye on Vinicius following his strong performance. He could well provide an assist in the second leg.
Probable line-ups
Lyon: Grief, Niakhate, Mata, Tessmann, Ouedraogo, Maitland-Niles, Morton, Tolisso, Abner, Openda, Fofana
Sparta Prague: Surovcik, Rynes, Sorensen, Sevinsky, Suchomel, Irving, Macek, Alcocer, Karabec, Mercado, Brunes
Anything else catch the eye?
The French Ligue 1 hasn’t started yet, which means Lyon haven’t played since the first leg. Of course, we’re still in the middle of summer, and it’s hard to talk about fatigue, but there is a difference between having a week’s rest and just three days between matches.
I expect Lyon to be on a completely different level this time round for their first official home match. It would be a disgrace if they couldn’t get the better of Sparta Prague. I’m not sure we’ll see a goal-fest, but I expect at least two goals for the home side.
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