UEFA Champions League 2018/19: 3 reasons why Barcelona should be wary of Lyon

After a routine win over Rayo Vallecano at home to regain their seven-point lead in LaLiga, Barcelona turn their attention to the Champions League where they face off against Lyon in their round-of-16 second leg clash at the Camp Nou.

The two teams played out a goalless draw in the first leg and Barcelona would be seeking to get the job done in the second leg to advance to the last eight of the UCL for the 12th season running. Barcelona are clear favorites to win the game at Camp Nou.

However, the tie is far from over and Barcelona would be wary of the threat posed by Lyon. In this piece, let's take a look at three reasons why Barca should be worried about the Ligue 1 side.

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#3 Their lack of an away goal

FC Barcelona v Tottenham Hotspur - UEFA Champions League Group B

In the first leg played at the Groupama stadium, both sides battled to a goalless draw which set the tie firmly in the balance ahead of the second leg at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona huffed and puffed, controlling proceedings for the entirety of the match, but they had nothing to show for it as their hosts defended resolutely, forcing the Catalans to leave empty-handed.

In total, Barcelona had 64% of the possession and hit 20 shots (of which just five were on target), but all of that counted for nothing as they failed to find the back of the net.

This puts Barcelona in the precarious situation of not having the cushion of an away goal, which means that for every goal Lyon scores, Barcelona has to score one more.

Away goals are extremely important in deciding the outcomes of UCL knockout ties and Barcelona's lack of one could come back to haunt them.

#2 Lyon are no pushovers and have some quality in their ranks

Olympique Lyonnais have some good players in their ranks

Lyon are definitely no pushover at this stage. They also pulled off arguably the biggest shock of this season's Champions League group stage when they defeated Manchester City at the Etihad on matchday 1.

They currently sit in third place on the Ligue 1 standings and were responsible for the only defeat suffered by PSG domestically so far this season when they beat the Parisian 2-1 at home in February.

With players like Nabil Fekir, Moussa Dembele, and Memphis Depay, Lyon have more than enough in their Arsenal to harm anyone who underrates them.

While they might be some way off matching the illustrious history of Barcelona, they do have some pretty impressive resume in Europe. All in all, it would be very unwise for Barcelona to take their visitors for granted.

#1 They have nothing to lose

FC Barcelona have everything lose in this game

Olympique Lyon are the overwhelming underdogs in this tie - make no mistake it. However, while Barcelona might be clear favorites, that does not give them the right to underestimate Lyon, as doing so could be at their own peril.

Whereas the hosts have an abundance of highly paid, proven world-class players who have won it all and have almost nothing left to prove, Lyon's players are hungry, largely untested and desperate to make a mark on the grandest stages.

As the saying goes, 'there is nothing more dangerous than fighting a man with nothing to lose' and this holds very true in this scenario.

Barcelona are desperate to win the UCL and this aim for UCL glory coupled with the fact that they are playing at home means the Catalans have their reputation to protect and hence have it all to lose.

This is a far from ideal situation for Barcelona to be in (as they found out rather embarrassingly last season against AS Roma) and they would not want to take the French side lightly.