Real Sociedad vs Lyon Europa League prediction: Match preview, team news, current form & h2h

Real Sociedad are looking to bounce back from defeat when they host Lyon in round four of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night.

Sociedad’s five-match unbeaten run was halted in a narrow 2-1 defeat in the Basque derby against Athletic Bilbao at the weekend.

The La Liga outfit has only managed four points from their opening four Europa League matches and currently sit in 14th place.

They welcome a Lyon side who are a place above them in 13th with six points from their opening three matches.

Lyon lost 3-0 to Hoffenheim in their last Europa game, while Sociedad were triumphant in a 6-0 demolition of Swedish side Lillestrom.

The French outfit has lost all three of their last away games and need to find a way to change that in this tricky encounter.

Will this be as difficult a game as it seems on paper or will Sociedad get their second Europa League win of the campaign?

Here is our predicted outcome for the match.

The match kicks off at 8:45PM E.A.T at the San Sebastian Arena

The hosts will be without Luken Beitia, Álvaro Odriozola and Arsen Zakharyan who are all unavailable through injury.

This may see Kenyan international Job Ochieng’ pulled into the starting XI, with Carlos Soler set to start as well.

Takefusa Kubo and Mikel Oyarzabal are both fit and will lead the attacking line for the home team.

Lyon have a longer injury list ahead of the match with Nicolas Tagliafico, Tyler Morton, Pavel Šulc and Loïs Openda all ruled out.

Noah Nartey has impressed from midfield and is expected to start, while Keito Nakamura is also tipped for a place in the attacking line.

The teams have met just twice recently, both during the 2013 Champions League qualifying rounds.

Sociedad won both matches 2-0. That gives Sociedad two wins from two, with four goals scored and none conceded.

However, Lyon have also won twice in their recent five games against the Spanish outfit, with one resulting in a draw.

Sociedad – LWWWD

Lyon – WLLWW

• Sociedad 2-0 Lyon (August 28, 2013)
• Lyon 0-2 Sociedad (August 20, 2013)
• Lyon 1-1 Sociedad (July 20, 2012)
• Lyon 1-0 Sociedad (March 9, 2004)
• Sociedad 0-1 Lyon (February 25, 2004)

The home side have the stronger combination of venue and recent scoring form, plus both teams have been involved in high-scoring matches recently.

Lyon have sufficient attacking quality to find a goal even if Sociedad control the match, though an away win may be hard to achieve.

Prediction – Sociedad to win or draw (1X) – PLACE YOUR BET ON THIS GAME HERE!