- Scoreline: Lyon and Celta de Vigo are locked at 1 - 1 on aggregate after the first leg
- Players to watch: Endrick is Lyon’s most dangerous player
- Determination: Celta de Vigo’s ten-man performance in the first leg is a measure of their determination
Cagey contest in store in Lyon
Olympique Lyonnais and Celta de Vigo clash for the second time in the 2025-26 UEFA Europa League round of 16 on Thursday as the knockout stages of the competition heat up.
The pair, meeting for the first time in this competition in the modern era, are locked at 1-1 on aggregate after a cagey first leg in Vigo when Celta’s Javi Rueda opened the scoring to give Celta a 1-0 lead, only to see Lyon’s Endrick snatch a late equaliser.
Celta, who played much of the second half with ten men after Borja Iglesias’ red card, will need to go at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais to try to grab a decisive goal if they are to take their place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Fonseca’s flexible formation
Tactical setup
Paulo Fonseca’s side are a possession-based team that play a flexible 4-2-3-1 system with plenty of width and fluidity in transition.
Fonseca’s tactical nous has kept Lyon in the top four of Ligue 1 through a difficult run of games and they are still in the mix in Europe. But, after three straight draws in all competitions and a narrow defeat to Marseille, there are defensive weaknesses to exploit - particularly after recent squad rotations and player absences.
Key players
- In Endrick, they have the pace and clinical finishing ability to be a constant threat on the counter-attack - as he proved when equalising in Vigo.
- Endrick’s hat-trick last time out means the Brazilian is now Lyon’s most dangerous and reliable player since he joined in January.
- Roman Yaremchuk provides a physical target in attack while Corentin Tolisso and Tyler Morton control the pace of the midfield game and transitions.
Giráldez’s gameplan looks good
Claudio Giráldez, one of the best young coaches in Spain, has got Celta working well in a compact 3-4-3 system, using his wing-backs to supply width in attack and pressing high up to try to win the ball back in transition.
His side have played some of their best soccer of the season in recent weeks and arrive in France in great form.
Celestinas are unbeaten in their last five LaLiga and European matches with wins over Real Madrid (2-0) and Girona (2-1 away) particularly impressive.
Celta currently occupy sixth spot in the Spanish top flight on 40 points from 27 games, one of their strongest campaigns in recent years.
The keeper Ionut Radu has been in good form and made some outstanding saves to keep Lyon out at Balaidos, but gifted them the away goal with a poor pass in the second half.
Celta are the value play
Celta’s high-tempo game and pressing strategy will look to exploit any gaps left by Lyon’s midfield and defence on Thursday, but Endrick’s flair could spell danger for the Spanish side at the other end.
We expect a chess match of sorts to develop in Lyon and it is hard to split the two clubs in this second-leg.
The bookmakers have Lyon at 1.97, Celta 3.85 and a draw 3.3 with the hosts the clear but not overwhelming favorites to progress to the quarter-finals.
Backing ‘both teams to score’ at 1.85 and under 2.5 goals at 1.7 seems a better plan of action for this match as it is likely to be cagey with extra time and penalties not to be ruled out.
A narrow 1-0 or 2-1 win for the hosts is the most likely outcome, although Celta’s counter-attacking prowess and recent form, plus the passionate atmosphere Lyon will generate for this European night, mean the tie could go to extra time.
The availability of Celta’s top goalscorer Borja Iglesias will be a factor - he faces suspension after his red card in Vigo - and his presence could see the visitors nick a result, but the absence of the Spaniard would blunt Celta’s attack.
