Olympique Lyonnais’ disastrous start to 2025 forced the club’s management to make a swift decision to sack Pierre Sage. At home against Ludogorets Razgrad, they must assert their dominance, as their place in the Europa League’s top eight is still not guaranteed.
A run of three consecutive draws—against Toulouse, Fenerbahçe (both 0:0), and Nantes (1:1)—suggests that Lyon have struggled to recover mentally from their Coupe de France elimination at the hands of lower-league side JA Drancy (2:3 on penalties). However, they still boast one of the best attacking records in the Europa League, scoring 15 goals in seven matches (surpassed by only two teams). Paulo Fonseca is the likely candidate to take over as Lyon’s new head coach. The Portuguese manager favours an attacking, dominant style of play, so we can expect Lyon to field at least 3–4 attack-minded players in Thursday’s lineup.
Ludogorets’ 0:2 defeat to Midtjylland last week eliminated them from play-off contention. At home in Razgrad, the team struggled, conceding 2.28 xGA and allowing six shots on target—a clear sign of their creative deficiencies. Even with the return of Pedro Naressi (who was suspended for yellow card accumulation), Ludogorets lack depth and quality, making them likely to finish at the bottom of their Europa League group.
Olympique Lyonnais must secure a confident victory against a Ludogorets side that have lost all motivation heading into this final round. Given their superior attacking quality, the French club should comfortably find the net at least twice.
