It’s all to play for in Group B, with Olympique Lyonnais still holding out hopes of finishing atop the section after slipping to two defeats in succession after a promising start saw them win all of their opening four matches. If they are to achieve that feat, they must best Hapoel Tel Aviv on Tuesday and hope that Schalke fail to overcome Benfica in Portugal.
Lyon have rarely served to play decisively this season and have almost pushed themselves into the top two of this pool by default as their opponents have been almost equally as erratic. Their uncertain form hasn’t simply consigned itself to continental competition, and for a good deal of the Ligue 1 season they were sitting in the bottom half of the standings.
OL have composed themselves to some extent domestically and have moved to within touching distance of the top of the league, though that’s been achieved in a rather unconvincing style too. Claude Puel’s men have muddled their way by opponents, with Saturday’s 2-1 victory in Montpellier an excellent example of the kind of win they’ve achieved.
Les Gones grabbed an early lead but once their opponents had settled into the game and drawn level it seemed that they would be lucky to escape with a point. Deep in stoppage time young left-back Timothee Kolodziejczak crossed for Lisandro Lopez to bury a shot into the corner of the net, giving Lyon three welcome if rather undeserved points.
Benfica and Schalke have been good enough to exploit the clear defensive weaknesses of OL, which French teams have failed in recent times, so Puel must first think about keeping things tight at the back on Tuesday evening.
Belying Expectations
When Hapoel Tel Aviv were drawn in a difficult looking Group B, they were considered to be the whipping boys. The Israelis may presently be at the foot of the standings, but they have proven more competitive a side than they were given credit for at the outset. Indeed, Eli Guttmann’s unit still have the opportunity to reach the Europa League should they win in France and Benfica fall at home to Schalke.
Three defeats from their opening three games painted a rather bleak picture of the Red Demons, though they had acted competitively against the Portuguese and French particularly. A 3-1 reverse in Gelsenkirchen seemed to slam the final nail into the club’s coffin in Matchday 3, but they rallied to hold die Koenigsblauen in Israel. Building on that, they achieved a magnificent 3-0 victory over Benfica a fortnight ago.
Eran Zahavi struck either side of a Douglas da Silva effort for the hosts as they shocked the Encarnados, who were expected to pick up three points in the Israeli capital. By no means were the hosts dominant, but they took their chances impressively while the luckless Portuguese floundered with their greater volume of possession and chances.
Hapoel have played themselves into a position from which they are still competitive on the final day of action, and that in itself is something of an achievement. Going strong in the Israeli Premier League, the Workers will at the very least gain a good deal of experience for another potential tilt at Europe’s premier competition next season.
TEAM NEWS
Lyon
Cris was able to return at the weekend after tendonitis had ruled him out for a couple of weeks, though Yoann Gourcuff is still toiling with a knock picked up against Schalke and won’t play. Jeremy Toulalan is involved again after a thigh problem kept him out at the weekend.
Aly Cissokho and Pape Diakhate were unable to play due to suspension at the weekend but will return to the rearguard on Tuesday.
Ederson, Cesar Delgado and Clement Grenier are all sidelined.
Hapoel
Romain Rocchi and Mahran Lala are both out due to injuries, though Salim Toama and Gal Shish have both recently overcome problems to feature.
Dedi Ben-Dayan is banned after crossing the disciplinary threshold.
Prediction
Though Lyon have struggled in Europe lately, their defeats have come away from home. Hapoel, on the other hand, have thrived in Israel but may get something of a shock when they get to the cold heart of France. OL should be good enough to win, but it might be surprisingly hard work.
O. Lyon 3-1 Hapoel 
