Europa League, round of 16, first leg, Thursday, 06/03/2025 at 6:45 PM
Olympique Lyon is likely to be one of the teams most likely to win the title – but that alone does not ensure that the French will convince round after round in our Europa League tips!
On Thursday, the trip to Bucharest is on the agenda, but be careful: the opponent is unpredictable and can surprise! So, in my FCSB Lyon betting tip, I’ll tell you why I’m being cautious and going for the “double chance X2” bet with under 3.5 goals.
Olympique Lyon have made it straight through to the knockout phase of the Europa League – but somehow, their play wasn’t really that convincing.
Four wins were recorded, but at least Lyon really turned on the offense here. 2-0 against Olympiakos, 4-1 against the Glasgow Rangers, 4-1 against Qarabag and 3-2 against Eintracht Frankfurt, where even a neutral spectator had fun.
It is all the more curious that the games against Besiktas (0:1), Fenerbahce (0:0) and Rasgrad (1:1) delivered opposite results, and for the sake of completeness, a 2:2 was played against Hoffenheim. It sometimes seemed as if the professionals didn’t always have the same desire for the opponents.
Olympique only conceded two goals in the first half, which is strong. There were six after the break, which shows that the defense has a weakness.
So is it worth betting on a FCBS goal in the second half? At Betano, this bet would have odds of 1.90, so it’s worth it before you familiarize yourself with the Betano bonus conditions.
Lyon have now gone eleven away games unbeaten in the Europa League, which is again a pretty impressive fact. Their last defeat was a 1-0 loss to Atalanta Bergamo in 2017.
Incidentally, the French have already played Steaua Bucharest four times, all of which took place between 2006 and 2008. 3-0, 1-1, 5-3 and 2-0: no one could complain about the results that the favorites achieved.
Of course, they are no longer meaningful, after all, in the most recent duel, players like Karim Benzema and Hugo Lloris were still on the pitch. In Lyon, however, they are likely to be happy to hear that FCSB has only won three of 15 duels against French teams.
When we look at the odds provided by our tax-free bookmakers together, the favorites role of the guests naturally stands out. A 1.90 meets a 4.00, so both single bets would be profitable for you.
The outsiders from Bucharest qualified for the round of the best 16 via the playoffs, so you can’t deny them at least a rhythm. The group stage wasn’t that bad either.
Bucharest would have needed a point to go through to the next round, but in the end they managed four wins, two draws and two defeats – that’s almost identical to what Olympique Lyon have on their schedule!
They lost 4-0 to Glasgow Rangers and 2-0 to Manchester United. They won against RFS (4-1), PAOK Saloniki (1-0), Midtjylland (2-0) and Qarabag (3-2), and drew against Piraeus and Hoffenheim (0-0 each time).
Interesting: With PAOK Saloniki, exactly the opponent that had already been defeated in the previous round was waiting in the playoffs. And lo and behold, FCSB kept their nerve again! 2:1 and 2:1, they made it into the round of 16 without any problems.
4:1, 2:0, 0:0 0:2 and 2:0? The home performances are not open to much criticism, there were not many goals against. Is an “under 1.5 goals” still possible for Lyon? Absolutely, at Betano I see odds of 1.95.
Incidentally, Bucharest has scored a total of six goals from dead balls, which is definitely worth mentioning. Five of the last seven have come from corners, so Lyon will have to be very careful here.
Olympique Lyon has been warned! Steaua Bucharest may sound like an easy opponent, but the Romanians did not get only one point less than the favorites of the last sixteen for nothing in the preliminary round.
I could also see that FCSB defends well, especially when playing at home. The team is particularly dangerous from set-pieces, especially corners.
Therefore, I’m going to be a bit cautious and go for the “double chance X2”. Since I was convinced by the underdog’s defense, my bet now totals:
Lyon will not lose with a maximum of three goals!
