Young Boys vs Lyon Prediction: Les Gones’ defensive strength to shine through

Young Boys and Lyon are both hoping to advance to the knockout stage of the Uefa Europa League. The visitors lead the way in the league phase standings with five wins from six games, while the hosts are nestled inside the play-off spots. They meet at Stadion Wankdorf on Thursday (17:45 GMT, TNT Sports 5).

Below you will find my Young Boys vs Lyon predictions, featuring the latest match odds and team news.

Team News

Tanguy Zoukrou will miss the game as the result of the red card he picked up against Lille in December. Ebrima Colley (ankle) and Facinet Conte (muscle) are also doubts for Thursday due to injury.

Joel Monteiro has three goals in the Europa League for the Swiss side and he is set to continue in attack against Lyon, likely alongside Christian Fassnacht and Alvyn Sanches, with Chris Bedia leading the line.

Football Odds

Having been out of action since Spring of last year, Ernest Nuamah is reportedly close to turning from a knee injury. Rachid Ghezzal is struggling with a groin problem as he has struggled to maintain fitness since joining the club in the summer.

Exciting young winger Malick Fofana is also nursing an ankle issue and he will miss out on Thursday.

Today's Football Fixtures

Young Boys vs Lyon Odds

Young Boys have won three of their six league phase fixtures and they are 7/2 to prevail on Thursday.

Neither team has experienced a draw so far but the stalemate is priced at 11/4.

Lyon are 8/11 (implied probability of 57.9%) to come away with the three points, having won five of their six outings to date.

The visitors' Corentin Tolisso has four goals in as many appearances in this competition in 2025/26 and he is 7/4 to score anytime.

To Win To Nil - Lyon @ 2/1

Lyon have the joint-second best defensive record in the Europa League with just three goals conceded and given how strong they have been in the first six rounds of the league phase, they will head to Switzerland with confidence, and they should fancy themselves to come away with the three points against Young Boys, who have lost three games already.

The hosts have been breached on 12 occasions so they are a lot more defensively vulnerable than the visitors. On home soil, they will look to cause Lyon some problems but defensive organisation has been a strong theme for Les Gones this term in all competitions.

In the Europa League, four of their five wins have been accompanied by a clean sheet, and I think 2/1 is an excellent price for this trend to continue on Thursday.

Handicap -1 - Lyon -1 @ 15/8

I think an away win also appeals when looking at the handicap market. Due to Lyon's impressive defensive record and the quality they possess in attacking areas, I think they are capable of recording a rather comfortable victory in Bern.

Three of their five victories in the Europa League have seen this selection land. If you are unfamiliar with how handicap markets work, this scenario would hand Young Boys a hypothetical 1-0 lead on Thursday, and so Lyon would need to win by two clear goals for the bet to be deemed a winner.

Their latest away trip in Europe saw them put on a show as they hammered Maccabi Tel Aviv 6-0. There may not be as many goals on offer on this occasion but I can see the French side netting two or three.

This was also a successful bet in Lyon's recent Ligue 1 trip to Monaco, which they won 3-1.

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