Barcelona vs Lyon : Prediction, Lineups, Team News
Preview
Barcelona will look to secure their place in the Champions League quarterfinals when they welcome Lyon to Camp Nou for the first leg of their round of 16 match on Wednesday night.
The tie is delicately prepared after a scoreless draw in the first leg last month, and Lyon makes it very difficult for the Spanish champions at night.
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Barcelona
It would be fair to say that the highs are very at stake for Barça this season. Saturday's 3-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano gave them a seven-point lead at the top of the league, while they face Valencia in the Copa del Rey final at the end of May. Another domestic double is in sight, but the Catalan giants will be absolutely desperate to get the European Cup this season.
Barça have not won this competition since 2015 and have lost in the quarterfinals phase in each of the last three seasons, which is simply not good enough for a team of its kind.
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This is the fifteenth consecutive year in which the Spanish giants moved to the knockout stages of the Champions League, and have won in 12 of their previous 14 meetings. Last season, Ernesto Valverde's team beat Chelsea 4-1 at this stage, while their famous 6-5 aggregate victory over Paris Saint-Germain occurred at the same stage of the 2016-17 campaign.
Between February 2 and February 19, Barça drew four of their five matches in all competitions and it would be fair to say that their performances were not fantastic. However, they won in Seville in the league on February 23, before registering consecutive victories over Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey and La Liga.
As mentioned, Valverde's team will enter this game after a 3-1 success over Rayo in the league. It will take some effort from Atlético de Madrid, second place, to prevent Barça from winning the league title, while they are the big favorites to beat Valencia and get another crown from the Copa del Rey.
This week will be the first time that Barça hosts Lyon in a European game in more than 10 years. The Spanish team was left without 5-2 winners at the Camp Nou during the last stage 16 of the 2008-09 competition and has been victorious in each of their three home matches with Lyon in the UEFA competition.
In addition, Barça have won eight of their 11 home games against the French opposition, suffering only one defeat. Lyon have a lot of talent, but it will take some effort on the side of Ligue 1 to triumph on Wednesday night.
First in Group B this season, Barça have lost just one of their last 18 Champions League games and are undefeated this season. Domestic matters are taking care of themselves at this time and, therefore, the Catalan giants can concentrate completely on fixing things in the Champions League.
Lyon
Lyon gave a very good account of themselves in the first stage last month. The club would have been looking for an advantage to bring back to Spain, but the French team obtained a solid front row result against their own supporters.
This is really the first time in seven seasons that Lyon has reached the knockout round of the Champions League. The French team faces its tenth draw in the competition and, despite winning the first three, has lost five of its last six meetings at this stage.
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In fact, Lyon's last victory in the round of 16 was during the 2009-10 campaign, when they beat Real Madrid 2-1 in total. However, they were defeated by APOEL in the 2011-12 season, and have found a real struggle to compete in this stage of Europe's leading competition in recent years.
Les Gones opened their group stage campaign with a 2-1 win over Manchester City, but then pulled each of their next five to finish with eight points, which was enough to secure second place in the section .
Lyon have really only lost one of their last eight away games in Europe, while it is worth remembering that they reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2010 and that they are certainly capable of staying at this level.
However, their form has been mixed since the first leg, losing against Monaco and tying with Strasbourg in Ligue 1, but they defeated Caen 3-1 in the French Cup before putting five Toulouse in the league early in the season. this month.
The team of Bruno Genesio will have to perform an almost perfect performance if you want to reserve your place in the quarterfinals at the expense of Barça. However, there have already been some incredible results in the Champions League this season, and Lyon certainly has players capable of achieving a surprising result.
Team News
Ivan Rakitic and Ousmane Dembele started Saturday's league clash with Rayo at the bank, but the pair are expected to return to XI on Wednesday night with Philippe Coutinho and Arturo Vidal falling to the bank.
Meanwhile, Clement Lenglet has returned from a domestic ban, and is expected to get approval from Samuel Umtiti at the center, since the latter is still working to get back in shape after a knee problem.
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On the other hand, Nelson Semedo could get the nod from Sergi Roberto on the right side, with the former impressive against Rayo during the weekend.
However, Valverde is not worried about the injuries and there will be no surprises while Luis Suárez and Lionel Messi prepare to start.
As for Lyon, captain Nabil Fekir missed the first stage until the suspension, but the 25-year-old is available for this game, which is a big boost for visitors.
Fekir scored 12 times and recorded seven assists in all competitions this season and will line up in the last third of the field.
There is a possibility that Genesio will decide to bring an additional midfielder to his team on Wednesday night, which would mean that one of Moussa Dembele, Memphis Depay and Bertrand Traore are lost in the last third.
However, the fact that Depay has not appeared in the league during the weekend makes the former Manchester United player safe, and Traore seems to be the one most likely to leave the visitors.
Once again there will be eyes on midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, meanwhile, with the 22-year-old linked with several of the biggest clubs in Europe.
Barcelona Prediction Lineup :
GK: Ter Stegen
DEF: Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba
MID: Busquets, Rakitic, Arthur
FW: Dembele, L Suarez, Messi
Lyon Prediction Lineup:
GK: Lopes
DEF: Dubois, Marcelo, Denayer, Mendy
MID: Ndombele, Aouar, Tousart
FW: Fekir, Dembele, Depay
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