Lyon Welcomes Palace: Europa League Showdowns Ahead

The Europa League action is heating up with some thrilling 5.45pm BST kick-offs tonight. Pierre Sage is truly a Lyon native, having been born just an hour and a half away. He kickstarted his football journey playing at the amateur level on the city's outskirts, eventually becoming a youth coach at Olympique Lyonnais in 2019 after a spell at semi-pro Lyon-Duchère. Fast forward to November 2023, and he took the reins from Fabio Grosso, guiding Lyon to Europa League qualification this season. Now, as he leads his Crystal Palace side back to the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, it feels like a homecoming for the 47-year-old. In other exciting matches, Torreense may be struggling in their domestic league, but their spirits are high after becoming the first club from Portugal's second tier to win the Taça de Portugal. They shocked Sporting with a 2-1 triumph in May and followed it up with a Europa League victory over Lillestrom. Now, they’re set to take on Sunderland, who are also seeking a boost as they sit in 17th place in the Premier League despite a solid Europa League opener against AZ last month. But that's not all on the agenda tonight. The matchups like RB Salzburg against Milan and Union Saint-Gilloise versus Real Sociedad could easily pass for Champions League clashes in another scenario. Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen faces a tough challenge away at Lech Poznan. Stay tuned as we cover these thrilling 5.45pm BST fixtures in our live blog, and look out for Simon Burnton later with updates on the 8pm BST kick-offs. Enjoy the matches!