- Olympique Lyonnais have won six of their last ten games in all competitions, while AC Sparta Praha have won six, drawn one and lost three of their last ten.
- Lyon have won five and lost one of their last six home games in all competitions, while Sparta Praha have won two and lost three of their last five away matches.
- Remi Himbert has scored three of Lyon's eight goals in their last five games, while John Mercado has bagged three in their recent five.
Sparta have a head-to-head edge
Olympique Lyonnais are favoured to beat AC Sparta Praha by the bookmakers at 1.72, but there is still a little bit of value to be squeezed out of the 4.65 about the visitors on Tuesday, while the 4.0 about the draw is also not to be ignored. The tie follows Sparta Praha's 2-1 home win over Lyon in UEFA Champions League Qualification 2026 and they are very much in the driving seat after seeing off FC Trinity Zlín 3-1 in the last round.
That makes them a dangerous proposition in Groupama Stadium, France, on Tuesday night and it could be a nervous evening for Lyon backers. The home side have three wins and two defeats in their last five and back-to-back losses to Real Betis (4-0 away) and Sparta Praha (2-1 away) will have dented Paulo Fonseca's confidence in his squad.
Fonseca is a possession-based coach that likes to control the flow of the game with a flexible back-three or back-four. Brian Priske's men are compact and direct in their approach, pressing high and wide, playing through the wings and looking to get the ball forward quickly to cause turnovers.
Lyon are on a wild ride
This has the makings of a chess match with Lyon looking to probe and overload and Sparta looking to disrupt, spring forward, and punish the channels. Lyon's home games are wild rides across all competitions with 3.33 goals scored and 2.33 conceded per match, so these contests usually open up quickly.
Sparta Praha average 1.40 goals scored and 2.00 goals conceded per away match across all competitions, so we like the look of the BTTS - Yes bet at 1.65, although we are going with Lyon to edge it here with a bet on Over 2.5 goals at 1.67.
Sparta have three wins and two defeats in their last five, but they arrive in France on the back of a two-match winning streak after seeing off Trinity Zlín 3-1 in the previous round. But they have also won only two and lost three of their five away games in all competitions, which is why we fancy a tight Lyon win.
Himbert can make the difference
Remi Himbert has three goals in Lyon's last five contests and can be the difference if his team win, while John Mercado, with three goals in Sparta's last five, can punish the hosts on the counter.
