Lyon head into the high-profile clash against Besiktas eager to make amends for the embarrassing 4-1 loss to Lorient, although it was clear that les Gones weren’t too focused on the weekend’s game.

The Black Eagles, on the other hand, have been in fine form of late, and they have reason for optimism ahead of the trip to France.

While showing glimpses of quality, Lyon have been unable to keep up with the likes of Monaco, PSG and Nice on domestic stage, and they are almost certain to finish the league campaign in fourth place.

However, les Gones will secure Champions League qualification if they win the Europa League trophy and there are no doubts this is their main preoccupation at the moment.

Lyon do not appear to be in the best of forms having suffered three defeats in last five fixtures, although the Lorient loss, where the team clearly had one eye on the Besiktas game, can be considered the only major setback.

Les Gones have been pretty impressive on home soil in European games, scoring a total of 11 goals in matches against AZ Alkmaar and AS Roma, and they are now 1.62 (5/8) to see off Besiktas as well.

Head coach Bruno Genesio does have some selection problems considering that Maxime Gonalons is banned and Memphis Depay is ineligible.

The good news is there are no injury worries, with full-back Christophe Jallet expected to recover from a knock he sustained against Lorient.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Lopes – Jallet, Mammana, Diakhaby, Morel – Tolisso, Tousart – Cornet, Fekir, Valbuena – Lacazette.

This is proving to be a very successful season for Besiktas, despite the fact that the team were unable to reach the Champions League knockout stages.

The Black Eagles went on to defeat Hapoel Beer Sheva and Olympiakos on the road to Europa League quarter-finals, while also impressing on domestic stage.

After ending a seven-year wait for a league title, Besiktas are on the road to defend the trophy seeing that they sit five points clear at the top with seven games to go.

Weekend’s 4-3 triumph over in-form Trabzonspor is likely to prove very important, with the team showing a great deal of character to score two late goals and secure a crucial win.

The victory did come at a cost as star winger Ricardo Quaresma suffered a leg injury in the process and he is now set to miss the Lyon game.

With forward Vincent Aboubakar suspended for the clash at Parc OL, Besiktas could face a tough task in the first leg on Thursday.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Fabri – Gonul, Marcelo, Tosic, Adriano – Uysal, Hutchinson – Ozyakup, Talisca, Babel – Tosun.