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Arsenal will entertain Lyon at the Emirates Stadium in the Emirates Cup final on Sunday. The visitors are making their fourth appearance in the pre-season competition, which marks the end of the pre-season for Arsenal.
The hosts played Bayer Leverkusen in a friendly earlier this week and registered a 4-1 triumph in their first game of the pre-season at the Emirates Stadium. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Leandro Trossard scored just seconds apart to give the Gunners a two-goal lead by the eighth minute.
Gabriel Jesus scored in the 38th minute while Kai Havertz added the fourth goal in the second half. Adam Hlozek pulled one back for the reigning Bundesliga champions in the 75th minute.
The visitors returned to goalscoring and winning ways after two games on Saturday as they registered a 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Saïd Benrahma scored in the 49th and 65th minutes while Gift Orban bagged a 10-minute brace.
Arsenal vs Lyon Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have met five times in all competitions. They first met in the 2000-01 UEFA Champions League group stage and their last three meetings have been friendlies. The hosts have the upper hand in these meetings with three wins while the visitors have just one.
- They have met twice in the Emirates Cup, with the hosts winning both games. Lyon played in the 2011 Emirates Cup but did not face Arsenal.
- They last met in the Dubai Super Cup, a friendly tournament in 2022, which the Premier League side won 3-0. Every match in the tournament concluded with a penalty shootout, which the Gunners won 2-1.
- Three of the five meetings between the two teams have produced over 2.5 goals. Interestingly, the visitors have failed to score in three meetings against the hosts.
Arsenal vs Lyon Prediction
The Gunners had suffered defeats to Manchester United and Liverpool in their friendly games in the USA last month but bounced back with an impressive win in their first home game of the pre-season on Wednesday.
They have a strong record in the Emirates Cup and having won their last three meetings against the visitors, they are strong favorites. Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber were not in the squad for the win over Leverkusen while Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice started from the bench. Mikel Arteta is expected to field a similar squad here.
Les Gones have two wins in four friendlies thus far while failing to score in the other two. They travel back to France after this friendly to begin their Ligue 1 campaign and Pierre Sage might opt to start key players from the bench. Alexandre Lacazette was with the France football team at the Olympics and won't be available for this match.
Considering the home advantage for the Gunners and their better record in this fixture, we back the hosts to register a comfortable win.
Prediction: Arsenal 3-2 Lyon
Arsenal vs Lyon Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Arsenal to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least one goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: Leandro Trossard to score or assist any time - Yes
