Besiktas – Lyon (Europa League)
Besiktas and Lyon face each other again this Thursday night, at Vodafone Arena in Istanbul, for the second leg of the Europa League quarter finals. After controlling a great part of the first leg at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Besiktas saw themselves losing the lead of the scorer in the last 10 minutos of the game and are now obliged to protect their domains, and beat Lyon without conceding goals to proceed to the next round. Lyon, on the other hand, travels to Turkey after a ridiculous episode on the weekend, in Bastia’s home, with the game being canceled after conflicts between supporters and players.
Besiktas began their european campaign in the Champions League, where they did not get better than a 3rd place in the Group B, staying behind Napoli and Benfica, which force them to move to the Europa League, where they have already eliminated Hapoel Beer Sheva and Olympiakos to reach these quarter finals. In the first leg of this tie, the turkish side traveled to Lyon where they took the lead of the scorer early in the game, but conceded two goals in the last 10 minutes of the game, leaving Parc Olympique Lyonnais defeated by 2-1. A good thing for the Black Eagles is that they have not played any game during the weekend, which means key-players will all be fresh here, increasing the chances of getting a good game without suffering from muscle fatigue.
This team led by the coach Senol Gunes is the type of team that always takes a lot of advantage of the fervent support of their fans, having not lost any game at home throughout the season, either in the Turkish league, Champions League or Europa League. Still, it is important to note that the the Black Eagles have conceded goals in all the european games played at home. Besiktas are a team that shows a lot of offensive quality when shooting from direct free kicks, attacking set pieces, creating long shot opportunities and creating chances using through balls, while stopping opponents from creating chances and defending against long shots seem to be their greater weaknesses.
In their last 5 official games, Besiktas won 3 games, drawing 1 and losing the another. This sequence of results started with a 4-1 home win against Olympiakos, for the Europa League. This victory was followed by a 0-0 away draw against Antalyaspor, a 3-0 home win over Genclerbirligi, a 3-4 away victory against Trabzonspor, and in their last clash, a 2-1 away loss against Lyon, for the Europa League. Marcelo and Vincent Aboubakar are out, both suspended.
Probable Lineup: Fabri – Gonul, Tosic, Mitrovic and Adriano – Hutchinson and Ozyakup – Babel, Talisca and Quaresma – Tosun.
Lyon, on the other hand, had the same fate has Besiktas, starting their european campaign in the Champions League, where they did not get better than a 3rd spot in Grupo H, staying behind Juventus and Sevilla, which saw them moving on to the Europa League, where they have eliminated AZ Alkmaar and AS Rom to reach this stage. In the first leg of these quarter finals, Lyon were completely dominated during the 1st half, where they conceded a goal, but were able to overturn the scorer with two goals in the last 10 minutes of the game, and some lucky in the way. At the weekend, Les Gones traveled to Bastia’s home, but at the end of the first half the game ended up being canceled due to an invasions of the supporters, with some players being attacked in the process.
The atmosphere at Vodafone Arena is always very hostile for the visitors, and the french side will certainly find it difficult to cope with such an atmosphere. Another bad thing for Les Gones is their poor form when playing away from Parc Olympique Lyonnais, having won only 2 of their last 10 games played as visitors. However, the french side also shows strength in attacking set pieces, creating chances through individual skill and using through balls, while showing some weaknesses in protecting the lead, stopping opponents from creating chances, defending long shots and avoiding individual errors.
In their last 5 official games, Lyon won 2, drawing 1 and losing the other 2. This sequence of results started with a 2-1 away loss at PSG’s ground. This defeat was followed by a 1-1 away draw agains Rennes, a 0-3 away victory over Metz, a 1-4 home loss against Lorient, and in their last clash, a 2-1 home win against Besiktas, for the Europa League. Raffael, suspended, and Memphis Depay, ineligible, are both out.
Probable Lineup: Lopes – Jallet, Mammana, Diakhaby and Morel – Tolisso, Gonalons and Tousart – Valbuena – Lacazette and Fekir.
Lyon won the only direct confront ever played.
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Lyon
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2-1 |
Besiktas
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Europa League 2016/17
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All in all, Besiktas are always a strong side at home and even though they have conceded goals in every game in european competitions, they are a strong contender to win this tie against a Lyon who usually struggles to play away from home, and will have to deal with an atmosphere everything but friendly.
