Europa League
2025-04-17 - Manchester United vs Lyon
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Europa League Quarter Final Second Leg
Thursday 17th April 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Manchester United
The crushing loss at St James' Park was hard to take for Manchester United fans, but the reality is that they were guilty of making the mistakes that ultimately proved to be costly. Manager Ruben Amorim admitted as much and it was mistakes from goalkeeper Andre Onana that means Manchester United still have work to do if they are going to continue their European adventure.
Getting back into the Champions League would open up financial avenues that could see Ruben Amorim's rebuild really pick up some steam, but that means pressure on a group of players that clearly are not good enough to represent Manchester United. The Europa League has proven to be a better standard for those players having still avoided a defeat in the competition, while Manchester United have won their last 4 at Old Trafford when playing in Europe.
Manchester United have now failed to win any of their last 4 games in all competitions and have suffered a couple of defeats in that time. After drawing the Manchester derby last time out at Old Trafford, Manchester United have won 1 of their last 4 at home in all competitions, although that was against Real Sociedad in the Europa League Last 16 Second Leg.
Andre Onana was surprisingly dropped for the game at Newcastle United, but Altay Bayinder hardly covered himself in glory and so a big decision has to be made by the manager. The likes of Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire, Patrick Dorgu and Casemiro will likely come into the starting eleven, while Rasmus Hojlund will lead the line after Joshua Zirkzee picked up an injury on Sunday.
Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain may have been given the weekend off to focus on their European Quarter Final Second Leg, but Lyon were picking up a morale boosting win at Auxerre on Sunday. That is a victory that pushes them right behind the Champions League chasing teams in the Ligue 1 standings and they will head to Manchester with a bit more confidence after equalising in injury time in this Europa League Quarter Final First Leg.
Some Lyon fans may have felt hard done by if their team had been beaten at home last week, although they did not look capable of recovering from a late Manchester United goal before Andre Onana's helping hand. At 2-2 there is all to play for thanks to the removal of the 'away goals rule' and Lyon are unbeaten in all 5 away Europa League games played this season. They have won 3 of those, including a thumping win at Scottish Premiership Rangers in the League Phase.
Lyon have lost 1 of their last 9 games in all competitions and the win on Sunday means they have picked up 7 victories in that time. The side have won 4 of their last 5 away games in all competitions, but the one exception was the 4-2 loss at Strasbourg at the end of March.
Changes were made for the win at Auxerre on Sunday just to ensure some remain fresh for this big game in Manchester. One big question may be around whether Alexandre Lacazette will be given a start having surprisingly begun on the bench in the First Leg.
Head to Head
Manchester United and Lyon have now drawn all 3 times they have played in France.
However, the 2 previous games at Old Trafford have both been won by the home team in November 2004 and March 2008.
Prediction
In normal circumstances, you would call a 2-2 away draw in a Knock Out tie in European Football a really good result, but a couple of factors may just have changed the narrative around that result.
The first is the removal of the 'away goals rule', which means a low-scoring home draw is no longer good enough to earn progression. This has removed some of the pressure of the goals conceded at home for the visiting team in the Second Leg.
In this case the second factor is the late goal conceded by Manchester United- there is a big difference between a 2-1 lead and a 2-2 draw heading back to Manchester and especially for a team with the kind of fragile confidence and mentality that this group of players continues to display.
Ruben Amorim will at least take confidence from the fact that some of the best Manchester United results in his time in charge have been in the Europa League. The 4-1 loss at Newcastle United continues what has been extremely poor form in the Premier League for a club of Manchester United's stature, but they have won 5 of 7 in the Europa League under the current manager.
In the last Round, Manchester United brought home a 1-1 draw from the First Leg in Spain before thumping Real Sociedad at home, but this does feel like a tougher test.
No one will confuse Lyon for Paris Saint-Germain, but the performances of the latter in the Champions League will have raised the profile of French Football. Lyon are 4th domestically, and some way short of the PSG power, but this is a team unbeaten in 5 away games in Europe this season and who crushed Rangers 1-4 at Ibrox during the League Phase.
Scoring so late in the First Leg can only have given the players belief, while Lyon may take advantage of any uneasiness that comes from the stands in this big Second Leg. They will know the expectation is on Manchester United to attack, which will leave room for the counter attack, and Lyon have scored at least twice in 4 of their 5 away Europa League games this season.
They were 1-3 winners at Auxerre on Sunday, which will bolster confidence, and Lyon can certainly play their part at Old Trafford.
My underlining feeling is that Manchester United can find a way to keep their Europa League winning dreams alive through one more Round, but this is not going to be easy. They simply do not look like a team that will be able to contain Lyon fully, but Manchester United also look capable of hitting the French team on the break and this may be another UEFA Quarter Final that sees at least three goals scored on the night this week.
The Pick :
Manchester United 3-2 Lyon
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Over 2.5 Goals at 1.66 with SportBet.One
