Crystal Palace vs Lyon

Out-of-sorts Lyon take a trip to Selhurst Park to meet perennial Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace in their first-ever match-up.

Despite securing Premier League survival almost effortlessly upon Roy Hodgson’s return to the helm last March, Crystal Palace could be staring down the barrel of another season-long fight against the drop, at least based on a disappointing summer on and off the field. In addition to losing long-serving captain Luka Milivojevic and standout winger Wilfried Zaha, the ‘Eagles’ have struggled on the pitch, managing just two wins from six pre-season friendlies (D1, L3). A lack of firepower is no longer an issue for Palace, though, with Hodgson’s side netting 2+ goals in three of their last five outings. But the Englishman’s defense has stuttered of late, racking up just one clean sheet in eight matches since a 2-0 home win over Bournemouth in mid-May, courtesy of a 4-0 demolition of lower-league Crawley Town.

As for Lyon, manager Laurent Blanc cannot be proud of his team’s pre-season performances despite kicking things off with a 2-1 victory over sub-par De Treffersin mid-July. ‘Les Gones’ have since lost three friendlies on the spin by an identical 1-0 scoreline, going down to Celta Vigo, RWDM, and Manchester United. Curiously, since a 1-1 draw against Nantes in March, none of Lyon’s last 15 matches have ended level (W8, L7). Six of their seven defeats in that sequence came by a narrow one-goal margin, suggesting the former Ligue 1 champions can put up a fight even on a bad day. But they’ve found the away goals hard to come by, drawing a blank on their last three ventures outside the Groupama Stadium (L3).