Just five days after getting a 1 - 0 loss at Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, on Sunday, Man United and their rivals Manchester City played out a lacklustre and disappointing goalless draw at Old Trafford. It was a rather unimpressive encounter where neither team really shone.

Ruben Amorim pointed out that fans shouldn't have anticipated a repeat of the classic derbies from the past. Considering the current situation of the two struggling teams, one in red and the other in blue in Manchester, this makes sense. However, Red Devil supporters still have much higher expectations from a team that Amorim insists is "progressing".

For Man United, qualifying for Europe through the Premier League is now an unrealistic goal. They're on track for their worst season in this division so far. Currently, they're in 13th place, having only 38 points from 31 matches, which is seven points behind the teams in the top half of the table.

Nevertheless, the chance to win the Europa League is still within reach. Man United is the only team in this season's Europa League competition that remains undefeated (with 6 wins and 4 draws). Most recently, they defeated Real Sociedad 5 - 2 on aggregate in the round of 16. Captain Bruno Fernandes scored an excellent hat - trick in the 4 - 1 second - leg victory last month.

In fact, Man United has lost just one of their last 21 Europa League games. That was a 3 - 0 defeat at Sevilla in April 2023, and it's the only time during this stretch that they failed to score. Additionally, since losing 1 - 0 to Barcelona in the 2019 Champions League, the Red Devils haven't lost any of their last 11 first - leg knockout ties in European competitions.

Since enduring a seven-game winless run in all competitions between mid-January and the beginning of February, Lyon have won seven of their last 10 matches, including six of their last seven in which they have scored 19 goals in the process.

Les Gones bounced back from a 4-2 Ligue 1 defeat at Strasbourg to win 2-1 at home to Lille on Saturday, with goals either side of half time from ex-Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette and Rayan Cherki helping them come from behind to claim maximum points.

While head coach Paulo Fonseca continues to serve a nine-month ban for angrily confronting a referee, assistant Jorge Maciel is tasked with leading Lyon from the touchline and currently sees his team sitting fifth in the Ligue 1 standings, just two points behind the top three and automatic Champions League qualification spots with six games remaining.

After finishing sixth in the 36-team Europa League table earlier this season, three places below Man United, before thrashing FCSB 7-1 on aggregate in the last 16, Lyon are now bidding to reach the semi-finals of a major European competition for the first time since the 2019-20 Champions League.

However, Lyon have never beaten Man United in four previous attempts and let leads slip to draw both home encounters in September 2004 (2-2) and February 2008 (1-1); Les Gones have only faced La Liga giants Barcelona (eight) on more occasions without ever winning in Europe. Meanwhile, they have also lost each of their last three two-legged ties against English opponents.

Lyon have suffered a major injury blow before Thursday's clash as winger Ernest Nuamah is ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury sustained in the opening seven minutes of last weekend's win over Lille. Malick Fofana is also sidelined with a knee problem.

Nuamah was replaced by in-demand attacker Cherki, who has recorded nine goals and 18 assists in 36 games this season - including eight assists in 10 Europa League matches - and he is expected to join Thiago Almada and either Lacazette or Georges Mikautadze in the final third.

Former Man United midfielder Nemanja Matic is set to play alongside Corentin Tolisso and Tanner Tessmann in midfield, while ex-Arsenal man Ainsley Maitland-Niles should keep his spot at right-back, joining Clinton Mata, Moussa Niakhate and either Nicolas Tagliafico or Abner Vinicius in the back four.

As for Man United, Lisandro Martinez (knee), Amad Diallo, Ayden Heaven (both ankle) and Jonny Evans (back) all remain sidelined with injuries, while Matthijs de Ligt (ankle) and Kobbie Mainoo (calf) will be assessed ahead of kickoff, the latter of whom has returned to training.

Luke Shaw is available for selection after four months out with a troublesome hamstring injury, but Patrick Dorgu is expected to retain his spot at left wing-back, while Harry Maguire is fit to continue at centre-back despite coming off early in the Manchester derby.

Mason Mount is another in contention to be involved and could feature in midfield or in the final third. Alejandro Garnacho is likely to retain his spot in attack, even though he has scored just one goal in his last 27 games for Man United, while Amorim will weigh up whether to stick with Rasmus Hojlund up front or recall Joshua Zirkzee.

Lyon possible starting lineup:

Perri; Maitland-Niles, Mata, Niakhate, Tagliafico; Tessmann, Matic; Cherki, Tolisso, Almada; Mikautadze

Manchester United possible starting lineup:

Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Yoro; Dalot, Ugarte, Casemiro, Dorgu; Fernandes, Garnacho; Zirkzee