Lyon vs Manchester United Prediction: Cherki to shake Red Devils up

It's been another dismal season for Manchester United, but just like in 2023/24, they could be lifting silverware in May as last month's Uefa Europa League last-16 aggregate success over Real Sociedad (5-2) saw the Red Devils advance to the quarter-finals, where they have been drawn against French side Olympique Lyonnais.

Below are my Lyon vs Manchester United predictions, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of Thursday's first leg at Groupama Stadium (20:00, TNT Sports 1).

Team News

Lyon lost Ghanaian attacker Ernest Numah to an ACL injury just seven minutes into Saturday night's 2-1 victory over Lille, with the 21-year-old subsequently ruled out for the rest of the season.

Numah joins Malick Fofana (knee) in Les Gones' treatment room, while former Southampton defender Duje Caleta-Car (unspecified) is a doubt after missing their weekend win.

Cherki will replace Numah on the right-hand side of Lyon's attack against Manchester United, while Georges Mikautadze, Abner Vinicius and ex-Aston Villa midfielder Jordan Veretout also have chances of earning promotions from the bench.

Football Odds

Former Man United man Nemanja Matic should keep his starting spot on Thursday, while 2022 World Cup winner Thiago Almada could pose problems for the Red Devils on the left wing.

Lyon head coach Paulo Fonseca is serving a nine-month suspension in Ligue 1 for angrily confronting an official during his side's 2-1 win over Brest on March 2. The Portuguese boss is banned from the dugout until November 30, and the punishment prevents him from going to the team dressing room, pitch, tunnel and corridors leading to those areas until September 15.

However, the suspension doesn't apply in Uefa competitions, so Fonseca can make a rare appearance on the sidelines this Thursday.

Lisandro Martinez (knee), Amad Diallo, Ayden Heaven (both ankle) and Jonny Evans (back) are all sidelined for the visitors, who will make late calls over Matthijs de Ligt and Kobbie Mainoo. De Ligt missed Sunday's Manchester derby draw with an ankle issue, while Mainoo has only recently returned to training following a calf injury that has kept him out of action since February's FA Cup win over Leicester City.

Harry Maguire was taken off just before the hour mark against Man City, but Ruben Amorim has confirmed that the substitution was pre-planned, and the English defender is in line to start Thursday's game in France.

Mason Mount continued his comeback from injury on Sunday, making his second substitute appearance of the week, and the 26-year-old will hope to earn more minutes against Lyon.

Luke Shaw was also on the bench at the weekend, although he didn't come on to the pitch, and any action on Thursday is likely to be limited for the left-back.

Lyon vs Manchester United Odds

Lyon have won eight of their last 10 matches and are slight favourites at 8/5 to serve up nine in 11 on Thursday. Those odds imply a probability of 38.5%, while Man United are 7/4, or a 36.4% chance, to secure a rare away victory, having won just one of their last five travel matches.

The draw is priced at 23/10, both teams to score - which has landed in eight of United's 10 Europa League matches this season - at 4/6, and over 2.5 total goals at 10/11.

Mikautadze (9/5) and former Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette (15/8) head the anytime goalscorer market, followed by Man United skipper Bruno Fernandes (23/10), who hit a hat-trick against Real Sociedad in his side's 4-1 home leg win last month.

Match Result - Lyon @ 6/4

Man United have suffered just one defeat in their last six games, a run that has included draws against Premier League title chasers Arsenal (1-1) and reigning champions Man City (0-0), and they've lost just one of their last nine in regulation time (they were knocked out in the FA Cup fifth round by Fulham on penalties).

On the face of it, that's solid form, but they've drawn five of those nine games, winning just three times - at home to relegation-threatened Ipswich Town (3-2) and away to another newly-promoted club destined for the drop, Leicester City (0-3), either side of a 4-1 second-leg thrashing of Real Sociedad, who were reduced to 10 men at Old Trafford with the score at 2-1.

Plus, if I'm being super critical, home draws against an injury-hit Arsenal and an out-of-form Man City aren't exactly inspiring.

Amorim's charges have also been poor on their travels since the start of February, winning just one of their five away games (W1, D2, L2), despite playing three bottom-half Premier League teams.

Lyon, meanwhile, have been in super form at Groupama Stadium since losing 1-0 to Besiktas there on October 24. Les Gones have lost just one of their last 13 home matches (W9, D3, L1), and that defeat was a narrow one to Champions League quarter-finalists and runaway Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain (2-3) on February 23.

Since the start of March, Lyon have won all four games on home soil, beating Brest (2-1), Le Havre (4-2) and Lille (2-1) in the league, and FCSB (4-0) in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie.

Fonseca's side have won six of their last seven contests (home and away) and arrive into Thursday's first leg on the back of a victory over Lille, who beat Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the league phase of the Uefa Champions League earlier this season.

The hosts have several stars that can pose problems for Man United, notably Cherki and Almada, and I just don't see how the visitors can cope with them in France.

I'm not ruling the Red Devils out of this tie completely as I believe they can achieve a positive result in Manchester, but 6/4 looks big for a Lyon win this week, and I'm all over it.

Anytime Goalscorer - Rayan Cherki (LYO) @ 5/2

Cherki is a player who has long been touted as a future superstar, but despite showing flashes of brilliance, there were fears that he was in danger of wasting his talents. He's not someone who should be defined solely by goals, but 17 strikes in 177 appearances across his first five seasons for Lyon was a pretty poor return, leading to transfer links to some mediocre clubs.

The 21-year-old has responded by delivering the best goalscoring season of his career, netting nine times in 36 outings, and there are still at least eight games to go.

Cherki's assist numbers (18) are even more impressive, with half of those coming in his last 11 matches, but he's also scored four goals in his last 10, including the winner off the bench in Saturday's success against Lille.

The France U21 international, who notched against Les Bleus' English counterparts in a 5-3 friendly win last month, has found the net twice in the 2024/25 Europa League, and both efforts came at Groupama Stadium.

He's already scored in some big games for Lyon this season, breaching the defences of Olympique Marseille, OGC Nice, Lille and PSG, and he can add Man United to a list of high-profile victims - I just don't see their midfielders or defenders being able to stop him if he's on form.

Offers

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