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Olympique Lyon is set to host Barcelona at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais for the first leg in the Round of 16 of the Champions League. The Catalans will travel to France to face the in-form Lyon side in a crucial contest. Lyon will be pumped to take on the Spanish champions in their backyard.
The hosts will be hoping for another dominant performance in front of their home crowd. However, Ernesto Valverde must be eager to emerge victorious in their trip to France to sustain their ambition of European glory this season.
Barcelona are currently sitting comfortably at the top of the ladder in the Spanish league. The visitors have a slight edge over their opponents, but there are still specific concerns with their defense. The defending La Liga champions have to remain consistent in the knock-out stages of the Champions League if they want to lift the title.
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They have looked vulnerable against quality counter-attacking sides, and Lyon will be ready to expose those holes in the backline. Currently considered among the best teams in the world, Barcelona would be focusing to bring back the Champions League trophy to Camp Nou.
Olympique Lyon, on the other hand, have a bunch of really talented players in their ranks. The hosts can push the Catalans hard and exploit their defensive fragility. Apart from Messi and Dembele no other player looks threatening with the ball as they focus on their possession game. Luis Suarez has also not been consistent this season while Philippe Coutinho is struggling to find any form in this tournament.
Having defeated Manchester City at Etihad Stadium, Lyon started their European campaign on a high. But unfortunately, they failed to capitalize on that win and drew all their remaining five games.
Both the teams must be ready for the knock-out stage pressure to qualify for the next round. Lyon need to play fearless yet sensible football throughout the 180 minutes if they want to stay alive in this tournament. However, the Spanish team would be hoping to play with total freedom and let Messi dictate terms.
GAME DETAILS
Date: Wednesday, 20 February 2019
Time: 01:30 AM IST
Venue: Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Decines-Charpieu, France
League: Champions League
Live Telecast: Sony Network
Online Streaming: Sonyliv (Website, App)
Recent Form (Last six matches)
Barcelona – W D D D W W
Olympique Lyon – W L W W W W
Head-to-head
Barcelona – 2
Olympique Lyon – 0
Drawn – 2
Team News
Barcelona
- Luis Suarez will return to the starting lineup for this game.
- Arthur, Rafinha and Jasper Cillessen will miss the game.
- Samuel Umtitti still remains doubtful to start.
Olympique Lyon
- Memphis Depay is set to feature in the starting XI.
- Nabil Fekir is suspended for Olympique Lyon.
- Amine Gouiri has been ruled out due to injury.
Key Players
Olympique Lyon- NDomele, Traore, Memphis Depay
Barcelona- Messi, Suarez, Rakitic
Probable Playing 11
Barcelona –
Stegen (GK), Roberto, Pique, Lenglet, Alba, Rakitic, Busquets, Vidal, Messi, Suarez, Dembele
Olympique Lyon–
Lopes (GK), Dubois, Marcelo, Morel, Mendy, NDomele, Tousart, Aouar, Traore, Dembele, Depay
