Lyon host Crystal Palace with winning starts on the line in Europa League

Lyon and Crystal Palace meet at the Groupama Stadium on Thursday, 15 October 2026, with both sides aiming to maintain their perfect starts to the Europa League league phase.

The match, part of the competition’s second matchday, will kick off at 16:45 GMT in Lyon. The two teams opened their campaigns with victories and will now face one another for the first time in an official competition.

The game will be shown on Canal+ Foot in France, Telefonica in Spain, RTL in Germany, Sky in Italy, Ziggo Sport in the Netherlands, and Sport TV and DAZN in Portugal. Viewers in Austria can watch on Canal+, Sky Austria or Servus TV, while beIN Sports holds the rights for the Middle East and North Africa. SuperSport and New World TV will broadcast the match in sub-Saharan Africa, with ESPN and Disney+ covering Latin America excluding Brazil. In Brazil, the fixture will be available on CazeTV.

Previous meetings

There have been no competitive meetings between Lyon and Crystal Palace. Their only previous encounter was a friendly in 2023, when the London club won 2-0.

The French side have also found English opposition difficult in recent years, failing to win any of their past four matches against clubs from England. That run consists of two draws and two defeats.

Crystal Palace have similarly limited experience against French teams. Their only other meeting with a French club ended in a 2-1 defeat by RC Strasbourg last season.

The most recent fixture between the two sides was:

– 5 August 2023, friendly: Crystal Palace 2-0 Lyon

Form before the match

Lyon go into the fixture after losing 2-1 to Lens in the league. The result ended a run of five matches without defeat, although their European record remains strong. The French club have won eight of their past nine matches in this phase of the competition.

Crystal Palace arrive in France after an impressive 3-1 Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest. The Eagles have lost only once in their past 12 European matches, underlining their consistency in continental competition.

The match presents a contrast between Lyon’s home advantage and Palace’s strong overall European record. Lyon have been particularly consistent in European group-stage matches at the Groupama Stadium, while Crystal Palace have been described as more vulnerable away from home than at Selhurst Park.

Africafoot’s prediction is a 2-1 victory for Lyon.

The betting odds listed for the match are 2.15 for a Lyon win, 3.60 for a draw and 3.10 for a Crystal Palace victory.