Preview

October 2, Lyon, Parc Olympique Lyonnais, 22:00
Live broadcast on Futbol 1 channel
 
Before the match
 
After the 1st round, Lyon, thanks to their victory over Manchester City, took the lead in Group F. Shakhtar and Hoffenheim played drew 2-2 in Kharkiv, with Ismaily and Maycon scoring goals for Shakhtar.
 
The Miners will face Lyon for the first time in the Champions League. Previously, our team’s opponents in European competitions were Monaco, Rennes, Lille, Nancy, Marseille, Toulouse and PSG. Shakhtar proved stronger in France on 3 out of 4 previous occasions (with the exception of the last one in Paris).
 
Shakhtar landed in Lyon on the matchday’s eve. 23 footballers are preparing for the encounter with the French - all except for Ivan Ordets and Dentinho, who continue to recover. On the evening of October 1, the Miners held an open training session at the local arena. Also, the manager Paulo Fonseca and the striker Junior Moraes answered the questions from reporters at a press conference.
 
Please be reminded that by the decision of the UEFA disciplinary body, the upcoming home meeting of Lyon will be held behind closed doors.
 
Opponents
 
Lyon were the third-place team in the  2017/18 French League. The 52-year-old Bruno Genesio’s men won the UCL group stage berth. The Weavers were second after PSG for the number of the goals scored (87 in 38 rounds), the Dutchman Memphis Depay shared the third spot on the top scorers list with the Parisian star Neymar (19 goals each), with Nabil Fekir and Mariano Diaz having only one goal less (the latter returned to Real Madrid this summer).
 
In the current Ligue 1 campaign, Lyon have performed with varying success. At the start, successes (vs Amiens and Strasbourg) were followed by failures (vs Reims and Nice), but in the next 4 rounds, the Lyon team never lost, including spectacular wins over Marseille (4-2) and Dijon (3-0). On average, the French made 18.75 shots in 90 minutes and had the 54.5% ball possession in the championship.
 
The last opponents of Lyon before Shakhtar were Nantes coached by Miguel Cardoso. Midway through the first half, Aouar brought the Weavers in front, with Boschilia equalizing in the 62nd minute. Genesio’s men had a chance of snatching the win, but Fekir did not convert the spot kick – 1-1.
 
Lyon played with the following line-up: Anthony Lopes, Dubois, Marcelo, Morel, Martial (Rafael, 75), Pape Cheikh (Ndombele, 70), Aouar, Traore, Fekir, Depay, Dembele (Cornet, 70).