UEFA Champions League: Dinamo Zagreb v Lyon Odds and Betting Preview

ZAGREB, CROATIA - Lyon fans will be clinging to the faint hope that the can still qualify for the knock-out stages of the UEFA Champions League, but they know only too well that they missed a golden opportunity on Matchday Five when failing to beat Ajax at the Stade Gerland. Lyon will only progress if they notch up a tennis score tonight in Croatia and if Real Madrid win in Amsterdam at the same time.

Remi Garde will have his Lyon players fired up for the match, and an away win for the French side in the favourite in the match betting at odds of 5/6 (bet £60 to win £50 profit) with Ladbrokes and bet365. A stalemate would save Zagreb the embarrassment of finishing their Group D campaign with zero points at 11/4 with Betfred, whilst a home win for Dinamo is not ruled out by Stan James at 7/2.

Dinamo Zagreb have only scored two goals in the tournament, which is just as many as their counterparts Lyon, but still they find themselves five points off third place and with nothing to play for on Matchday Six bar pride. Zagreb have lost both home games against French opposition in European contests to date, against Auxerre and Marseille, but will be looking to improve that record against a frustrating Lyon side.

Lyon’s form in Ligue 1 has picked up recently thanks to the welcome return of Argentine striker Lisandro Lopez, but he will need to be at his brilliant best tonight if Lyon are to pull off the impossible. It looks likely that Lyon will fail to qualify for the next round of the Champions League for the first time since the 2002/03 edition of the competition, which is going to be a significant financial blow to the club, although optimists can still back them to qualify at 17/2 with Ladbrokes. Nevertheless, a favor from Real Madrid looks unlikely given that the Spanish side will have their eyes on Saturday’s Clasico against Barcelona.

The favoured outcome in the correct score betting is a 1-1 draw, which is a 6/1 chance with William Hill. With Lyon set to give it their all, and considering they were much too good for Zagreb when the two sides met in France, away wins of 1-0 and 2-0 make appeal at 13/2 and 15/2 respectively on Betfair and with bet365. Punters expecting a fairy-tale will have their calculators out, and for Lyon to make up seven goals to catch up with Ajax in the group, scores like 4-0 and 5-0 to Lyon could be plays at 33/1 and 100/1 receptively with totesport. Alternatively, a 2-1 home win can be backed at 14/1 with bet365.

With many punters expecting Lyon to win, Bafetimbi Gomis is the favoruite to open the scoring tonight at 6/1 with Coral. The same firm go 13/2 about Lisandro Lopez scoring first, which could be a better bet depending on the starting line-ups, as he has scored against both Auxerre and Toulouse recently in Ligue 1. Michel Bastos is a 9/1 poke with Ladbrokes, whilst Zagreb will be looking towards Montenegro striker Fatos Bećiraj at 17/2 with bet365, who has scored six goals in 25 European matches for Dinamo.

Over 2.5 goals can be supported at 10/11 with Ladbrokes, whilst Lyon are a tempting bet at 2/1 with Sky Bet to lead the match at both half-time and full-time. In other markets, Lisandro Lopez is attractively-priced at 11/5 with Coral in the anytime goalscorer market, whilst ‘both teams to score’ is a 10/11 chance with William Hill.

The match kicks-off at 8.45pm local time on Wednesday 7 December, which is 7.45pm in the UK. It is live on Sky Interactive.

Dinamo Zagreb v Lyon Match Odds

Dinamo Zagreb v Lyon First Goalscorer Odds

Dinamo Zagreb v Lyon HT/FT Odds

Dinamo Zagreb v Lyon Correct Score Odds