Lyon midfield hold the key for Champions League clash against Barcelona

Olympique Lyonnais hosts five-time UEFA Champions League winners FC Barcelona in the first leg of the knockout stages. Having witnessed some enticing battles between European giants last week, this promises to be another closely contested tie. Both teams will be looking to make a quick start to hold an advantage moving into the second leg.

Barcelona are favourites going into the tie but Lyon will not roll over. Les Gones have raised their game when it counts, producing some incredible performances to beat Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain already this season. Bruno Génésio will be looking to guide his young team towards a quarter-final place but faces an uphill task of taking down Ernesto Valverde’s Barcelona side. Former Lyon favourite Samuel Umtiti makes his first return to the Lyon Olympic Stadium.

My colleague and friend Domagoj Kostanjšak will be covering this preview from Barcelona’s perspective while this article will give you the strengths and qualities Lyon can bring to the tie. In this preview, we will analyse three points:

• Lyon’s formation and how they could line up
• The strengths Lyon will bring to the table
• Lyon’s potential shortcomings

Lyon: Expected formation

Génésio usually lines up in a 4-4-1-1 formation against more formidable sides. There is an added emphasis on using his wingers and full-backs as their main attacking outlet. Against Manchester City earlier in the campaign he resorted to a 3-5-2 formation which yielded success. Using the pace of former Manchester United winger Memphis Depay is a particular asset.

Bertrand Traore and Maxwell Cornet on the counter-attack is a fundamental part of the offensive plan supplemented by the industry and creativity of Nabil Fekir in the number 10 position. Out of possession, we can expect a high press starting with Moussa Dembélé. The pace of Memphis Depay and Bertrand Traore combined with the direct style of the full-backs was a key factor in the win against Manchester City in the group stages.

The biggest news of the tie though is Nabil Fekir’s absence after he misses out through suspension. The French international will be a big miss for Lyon and may struggle without his creativity and drive. Jason Denayer and Tanguy Ndombele are also doubts to feature.

Lyon have kept eight clean sheets this season but none have come in the Champions League. However, their overall performance has been exceptional in preserving leads. Léo Dubois has been an excellent acquisition for Lyon this season and has surpassed Kenny Tete and Raphael as the starting right-back this season.

His stand out performance came against Paris Saint-Germain in a disciplined and well executed 2-1 win having a hand in Lyon’s first goal. Both full-backs will be important to Lyon’s success at both ends of the pitch with their pace, crossing and interchanging play with Lyon’s attackers vital at creating overloads.

But what do Lyon bring to the table?

Lyon are as dangerous as any top European team in the Champions League when it comes to their fearsome foursome. Génésio has instilled an attacking philosophy that has seen the transformation of Memphis Depay into a clinical and intelligent centre-forward and Nabil Fekir into one of the most sought after number 10s in world football.