Celta Vigo take on the visitors Lyon in the first leg of UEFA Europa League round of 1/8-finals. The match will be played on Thursday, March 12th at Estadio de Balaídos (Vigo).
Celta Vigo have spent the past few years mostly focused on the fight for survival. In the season before last they once again managed to avoid relegation to the Segunda after another coaching change, getting rid of Benítez, who had failed in Vigo. Recently the team have looked much more organized, regularly collecting points even in difficult matches and avoiding the long losing streaks that used to trouble them before. At home especially, Celta have managed to maintain a confident level of play, which has become one of the key factors behind their stable position in the table. Rafa was replaced by the much less well-known coach Giráldez. After securing their place in the top division, the following season — his first full campaign with the team — he led his side to a 7th-place finish. This season there were concerns about a possible decline due to the additional workload in European competitions. And at first they struggled to win for quite a long time. But by spring they managed to remain among the contenders for 6th position. In the Europa League the Spaniards collected four victories and 13 points in the main round, and in February they defeated PAOK twice.
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Olympique Lyon are pleasing their fans this season. Les Gones appointed Paulo Fonseca during the middle of the previous campaign, and his first months left a mixed impression, as the team finished only 6th and the coach served a long suspension after a serious conflict with a referee in one of his first matches after returning to France. Recently, however, Lyon have looked far more confident domestically, consistently picking up points and keeping their position among the leading teams in Ligue 1. Their overall form has also improved noticeably compared to last season, with the team regularly producing strong performances in important fixtures. At the moment the Portuguese coach’s side are quite comfortably holding 3rd place in the domestic league, trailing only the surprisingly strong Lens and the perennial favorite, PSG. In the Europa League the only blemish on Olympique Lyonnais record was a trip to Seville, where they lost 0–2 to Real Betis. Still, with seven victories and just one defeat they finished as the clear leaders of the final table of the main round of the tournament.
In the summer of the season before last the clubs organized their first-ever meeting, a friendly match. On that occasion the Sky Blues won by the narrowest margin, and since then the teams have not met again. The Spaniards are considered favorites in this pair when playing at home. However, the visitors also have plenty of their own advantages — the pick here is that Paulo Fonseca’s side will avoid defeat.
Prediction for the match: Lyon not to lose (X2).
