Lyon manager Peter Bosz has confirmed a double injury blow for Lyon ahead of their Europa League Group A clash with Rangers.
The two sides will meet at the Groupama Stadium on Thursday knowing that the result won’t impact the group’s final standings.
However, there’s UEFA prize money to play for, while Gio van Bronckhorst will be keen to keep up his 100% record as Gers boss and the French giants will be looking for an impressive sixth win out of six in the competition.
The hosts will be without two key players, though.
During his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Bosz confirmed that both Sinaly Diomande and Jason Denayer are unavailable.
Diomande hasn’t played since Lyon’s home win over Sparta Prague at the start of November due to injury, while Denayer was forced off on the stroke of half-time after scoring in a 2-2 Ligue 1 draw with Bordeaux on Sunday.
The OL manager also touched on Brazil international Lucas Paqueta, who he admitted is currently struggling for form.
“We will be missing two central defenders tomorrow: Diomande and Denayer,” he said [OL English Twitter] “We will see tomorrow who will start.”
“In difficult times, we see who are the real leaders. Lucas Paqueta is going through a difficult time, like the team.”
Bosz confirms double Lyon blow ahead of Rangers clash
Bosz may have already been planning on some rotation for this game but now he has a selection headache at centre-back, although World Cup-winner Jerome Boateng should be available.
Former Celtic loanee Denayer was a standout performer in Lyon’s 2-0 win at Ibrox in September, while Ivory Coast international Diomande came off the bench in that game and also helped to keep clean sheets against both Sparta Prague and Brondby.
It’s also good news for Rangers that Paqueta hasn’t been at his best in recent times, although his stats for the season still make for decent reading, with seven goals and four assists from 21 appearances across all competitions.
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