Thursday October 19, 20:05 (BST), Goodison Park, LIVE on BT Sport 2
Struggling Everton face a battle to keep their Europa League dream alive when they face Ligue 1 side Lyon at Goodison Park on Thursday.
The Toffees, who lie 16th place in the Premier League table, are rooted to the bottom of their Europa League pool having secured just one point from their opening two games. So with a points tally of 10 in mind as a benchmark for qualification, Thursday's encounter at Goodison Park is crucial to Everton's hopes of progressing through to the knockout stages.
In their way is a gifted Lyon side that earned a last-minute win against French champions Monaco at the weekend.
Les Gones can count matchwinner Nabil Fekir and former Manchester United winger Memphis Depay among their ranks, and started the group stage as favourites to progress through to the last 32. As such, Bruno Genesio's team will pose a substantial threat to the Blues' hopes of gettting their Europa League campaign back on track.
Should Ronald Koeman's men come away with anything other than three points, they can probably kiss goodbye to any hopes of making it out of Group E.
Team news
Tasked with picking a team to not only win the game, but also alleviate the growing pressure on his job, Ronald Koeman is likely to field something close to his strongest side for the visit of the Ligue 1 club.
That should mean starts for the likes of Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane, despite rotation in earlier rounds. Of those on the fringes of first-team selection, right-back Jonjoe Kenny, central midfielder Tom Davies and wingers Kevin Mirallas and Ademola Lookman are all in with a decent chance of featuring, but striker Oumar Niasse is again ineligible after being left out of Everton's Europa League squad at the start of the season.
Opponents Lyon head to Merseyside without injured top-scorer Mariano Diaz and left-back Ferland Mendy, but can call on main creative influence Fekir and a host of other key names. Another familiar face to Premier League audiences, ex-Newcastle defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, is expected to line up alongside normal partner Mouctar Diakhaby in a leaky backline that has conceded 15 goals in just 9 Ligue 1 games.
Further forward, manager Genesio's track record of putting out close-to-full-strength sides in the competition- Lyon reached the semi-final last season- means that regular starters Tanguy Ndombele and Lucas Tousart should reprise their successful central midfield partnership in front of a trio of attacking midfielders.
The aforementioned Fekir and Depay will join the likes of former Chelsea man Bertrand Traore and teenager Houssem Aouar in vying for a starting berth behind the main striker, while 18-year-old Myziane Maolida could take advantage of Mariano's injury to feature as the focal point of the attack.
Ones to watch
Nabil Fekir- Perhaps the jewel in the crown as far as Lyon are concerned, attacking midfielder Fekir combines technical excellence with strong running and- as Monaco found to their detriment- razor-sharp set-piece ability. Stop the French international and you go a long way to limiting Lyon's creative threat.
Tanguy Ndombele- A standout performer in the recent game against PSG, 20-year-old Ndombele is adept at breaking up opposition attacks and driving forward with the ball from his central midfield position. Given Everton's woes in the centre of the park, the France Under-21 international seems ideally placed to exploit any gaps that may open up as the game becomes stretched.
Bertrand Traore- Former Chelsea attacker Traore secured a summer move to OL after shining on loan for Ajax last season. A versatile player known for his rangy stride and shooting from distance, the 22-year-old is almost certain to be a crucial part of Genesio's attacking blueprint at Goodison Park.
Expected starting lineups
Everton: Pickford; Kenny, Keane, Jagielka, Baines; Schneiderlin, Davies, Klaassen; Vlasic, Calvert-Lewin, Sigurdsson
Lyon: Lopes; Tete, Yanga-Mbiwa, Diakhaby, Marcal; Tousart, Ndombele; Traore, Fekir, Depay; Maolida
Prediction
Only Monaco and PSG have scored more goals so far this season than Lyon in Ligue 1, but while formidable in attack, defensive vulnerabilities remain.
Whether Everton are primed to exploit such weaknesses, though, is up for debate. Shorn of last year's top scorer, Romelu Lukaku, a blunt Toffees side seem incapable of taking full advantage of the situation at present- mustering just five goals in their opening eight Premier League games. Moreover, going the other way, it remains to be seen how well a creaking Toffees backline copes against the likes of Fekir and Traore.
With that in mind, it seems likely that the 2016-17 semi-finalists will have a bit too much for an Everton side drastically short on confidence. Prediction: Everton 1-2 Lyon