Rangers v Lyon betting tips: French side slight favourites
Published:
Rangers v Lyon betting tips and odds
Scottish champions Rangers start their Europa League group campaign as slight underdogs at 33/20 to beat Lyon at Ibrox on Thursday night.
Steven Gerrard’s side dropped into the Europa League having surprisingly lost a two-legged Champions League third-round qualifier against Malmo.
It’s a tough start for the Gers against a team that reached the semi-finals of the Champions League two years ago so let’s check out the latest odds in our Rangers v Lyon betting tips.
Match Odds
Rangers sauntered to the Scottish Premiership title last season, finishing 25 points clear of arch-rivals Celtic without losing a game, but life has been much tougher in the current campaign.
Despite beating the Hoops in the Old Firm derby, the Light Blues had already lost to Dundee United in the second game of the season and went a goal behind to St Johnstone before rallying to win at the weekend – a result which fired them to the top of the table.
Rangers scraped into the Europa League group phase with an uninspiring 1-0 aggregate win against Armenian side Alashkert so it has been a patchy start for the Glasgow giants, who are 50/1 to win the competition.
Unity & Togetherness 💙
Massive 3 points 🇬🇧
Enjoy your weekend 😁 pic.twitter.com/0CLtO1DfGM— James Tavernier (@James_Tavernier) September 11, 2021
Lyon finished just outside the Champions League spots in fourth last season and are 6/4 to win on Thursday while a draw is 12/5.
The French club sold defenders Joachim Andersen and Maxwel Cornet to Crystal Palace and Burnley respectively.
But they brought in Xherdan Shaqiri from Liverpool and signed left-back Emerson Palmieri on loan from Chelsea, the former making his debut in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Strasbourg – their second successive win.
Both teams to score, over 2.5 goals in the match and either team to win can be backed at 11/8 as one of our Rangers v Lyon betting tips.
A goal in both halves and the match to be drawn is available at 5/1 while the last of our Rangers v Lyon betting tips is both teams to score and under 3.5 goals at 2/1, which effectively covers a 1-1 draw or a 2-1 win for either side.
Talking Tactics
Gerrard could be without Filip Helander, who was carried off with a leg injury at McDiarmid Park, and with Connor Goldson self-isolating, Rangers have a problem in the heart of defence.
If both players are unavailable, Leon Balogun will partner Jack Simpson at the back, with Gerrard saying they “are more than capable” of playing in central defence in a 4-3-3 system.
Rangers are likely to meet a familiar face on Thursday when former Celtic striker Moussa Dembele is expected to lead the line in a 4-2-3-1 formation in which Shaqiri plays on the right side of the three attacking midfielders.
Goalscorer Odds
Kemar Roofe scored the equaliser at the weekend and is the 4/1 favourite to break the deadlock, just ahead of strike partner Alfredo Morelos, who is 9/2.
Goalscoring right-back James Tavernier is 15/2 to get the ball rolling, shorter than attacker Ryan Kent at 17/2, while both men are 14/5 and 3/1 respectively in the anytime market.
Dembele is 9/2 to bag the opener for Lyon as he has in the last three games while midfielder Lucas Paqueta looks an interesting option at 5/2 to find the net having done so twice this season.
Shaqiri is 9/1 to grab the opening goal or 16/5 to score at any time as the last of our Rangers v Lyon betting tips.
Match Info
Where: Ibrox
When: 20:00, Thursday 16th September
How to watch: BT Sport
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
