Crystal Palace travel to Lyon this evening for a Europa League clash that will be particularly special for manager Pierre Sage. The Frenchman returns to the Groupama Stadium for the first time as Palace boss, having previously managed Lyon between November 2023 and January 2025.Sage helped turn Lyons fortunes around during his time in charge before being dismissed by John Textor, and he will now be hoping to get one over on his former employers.Palace have enjoyed an encouraging run of form in recent weeks, winning four of their last six matches in all competitions.The Eagles thrashed Lech Poznan 4-0 in their opening Europa League fixture before coming from behind to beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 in the Premier League on Sunday.Lyon also made a winning start to their European campaign, beating Anderlecht 2-1 away from home despite manager Paulo Fonseca making eight changes to his starting XI.Both teams will be looking to make it two wins from two in the league phase, although Palace have struggled on their travels recently, winning just one of their last eight away matches.101GreatGoals brings you all the team news ahead of the 5.45pm kick-off.Lyon team newsLyon: Greif, Athekame, Bacher, Kluivert, Abner Vinicius, Tolisso, Morton, Nartey, Nuamah, NakamuraLyon Substitutes: Bengui, Descamps, Bidstrup, Tessmann, Sulc, Niakhate, Mata, Duranville, Boudache, Kango, Himbert, KamaraCrystal Palace team newsCrystal Palace: Benitez, Mingueza, Richards, Disasi, Canvot, Mitchell, Timber, Wharton, Sarr, Pino, Strand LarsenCrystal Palace Substitutes: Matthews, Benetton, Ahanor, Khalaili, McNeil, Hughes, Benamar, Kamada, Osorio, NketiahEuropa League Table UEFA Europa League 2026 World #TeamPlayedWonDrawnLostGFGAGDPtsLast 1 1 Juventus11005053 W 2 Crystal Palace11004043 W 3 Sparta Praha11004133 W 4 Beikta11004133 W 5 Union St. Gilloise11003033 W 6 Ferencvarosi TC11003123 W 7 Benfica11002023 W 8 Bayer Leverkusen11002023 W 9 OFI11002023 W 10 Bournemouth11002113 W 11 Lyon11002113 W 12 Torreense11002113 W 13 Olympiakos Piraeus11002113 W 14 Red Bull Salzburg11001013 W 15 Sunderland11001013 W 16 Omonia Nicosia11001013 W 17 Sturm Graz10100001 D 18 Rennes10100001 D 19 Dinamo Zagreb10100001 D 20 Hapoel Beer Sheva10100001 D 21 Jagiellonia100112-10 L 22 Real Sociedad100112-10 L 23 Anderlecht100112-10 L 24 Lillestrom100112-10 L 25 Celta Vigo100101-10 L 26 AZ Alkmaar100101-10 L 27 Levski Sofia100101-10 L 28 Celtic100113-20 L 29 1899 Hoffenheim100102-20 L 30 AC Milan100102-20 L 31 Celje100102-20 L 32 Marseille100114-30 L 33 Ararat-Armenia100114-30 L 34 Plzen100103-30 L 35 Lech Poznan100104-40 L 36 NEC Nijmegen100105-50 L Position 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 : Promotion Europa League (Play Offs: 1/8-finals) Position 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 : Promotion Europa League (Play Offs: 1/16-finals) Recent Form & Stats for Lyon v Crystal PalaceLyon won 2-1 at Anderlecht on matchday one, while Crystal Palace beat Lech Pozna 4-0 at home.Palace have won only one of their last eight away games in all competitions (D2 L5).Lyon have won only eight of their 27 previous meetings with English clubs (D10 L9).Pierre Sage managed Lyon from November 2023 to January 2025, and recorded one win, one draw and one defeat against them with Lens last season.Crystal Palace are the reigning Conference League champions after beating Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the final in May.This is the first competitive meeting between the two clubs.Prediction for Lyon v Crystal PalacePalace have the chance to record a memorable win against a French heavyweight. They will need to improve on their weekend performance but the opportunity is there Match PredictionLyon 1 1 Crystal Palace Topics Crystal Palace F.C. Olympique Lyonnais If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read Lyon v Crystal Palace: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch Jon Fisher 15th October, 2026 The Premier League Sack-o-Meter: Who is in danger with six games gone? Jon Fisher 13th October, 2026 Full list of TV Premier League fixtures in October and early November Ben Miller 12th October, 2026 Call it karma: Glasner takes responsibility for Forest defeat at Palace Lauren Lister 11th October, 2026 Crystal Palace 3-1 Nottingham Forest: Report, result and goals as Glasner endures unhappy return to former club Lauren Lister 11th October, 2026 Watch: Ndoye gives Forest early lead but Palace hit back Lauren Lister 11th October, 2026
