Last season, the French side narrowly finished ahead of Strasbourg to secure sixth place. Now they are trying to challenge for third, though not all is going smoothly—just as it isn’t for their competitors. In 2024, the Salonika club won the championship after a five-year break, but could not defend their title and have since dropped to third place.
Paulo Fonseca’s men were expected to drop into the Conference League last summer. However, they defended their right to play in the Europa League, where they were the best among all participants. Despite beating all other teams, they lost away to Betis. Against Young Boys, Maitland-Niles scored just before halftime, and that goal proved to be the only one of the match.
The Greeks began their journey in the summer, advancing through qualifying rounds against Wolfsberg and Rijeka. They then drew at home with Maccabi Tel Aviv and lost to Celta. However, they went on to beat both Lille and Young Boys, scoring four goals in each, and drew high-scoring matches with Brann and Ludogorets. Hosting Betis, they unexpectedly won 2-0.
Lyon vs PAOK: Key Statistics and Trends
Lyon have won six of their seven matches in the League
The team scores twice per game on average, conceding just 0.43 times per match
PAOK have drawn twice in their last three fixtures
The club averages 1.91 goals scored and concedes about one per game
Lyon vs PAOK: Probable Starting Lineups
Lyon (probable lineup): Descamp – Tagliafico, Kluivert, Mata, Maitland-Niles – Mera, Morton, Tessmann – Moreira, Schultz, Karabec
PAOK (probable lineup): Tsiftsis – Baba, Michailidis, Kedziora, Kenny – Meite, Ozdoev, Taison, Pelkas, Zivkovic – Giakoumakis
Previous Meetings: Lyon vs PAOK
This will be the first time the Greek side visits Lyon.
Free Prediction for Lyon vs PAOK
The leader of this tournament will play at home. Therefore, a bet on another victory for Paulo Fonseca’s men over their opponent seems logical (odds – 1.7).