Lyon seek to stun Barcelona at the Camp Nou

Olympique Lyonnais are hoping to create a bit of magic tonight at Camp Nou as they seek to beat FC Barcelona at home, a feat not achieved by many. Everything is still up in the air between the Spanish and French teams after both sides failed to score at the Lyon Olympic Stadium. History is on Barcelona’s side though,  68% of teams who play at home after a first leg draw go on to win the match.

After seeing their rivals Real Madrid win the trophy for the last three years, this year is a golden opportunity for Barcelona, especially with Real Madrid already exiting the competition. If the last three nights of Champions League have showed us anything though it is that football is unpredictable with Manchester United beating favourites Paris Saint Germain at home, and Real Madrid being knocked out by Ajax. 

Both teams also have key players injured which may be a determining factor in the outcome of the match. On the Catalan side, Ousmane Dembele may be out following an injury while Rafinha and Thomas Varmaelen are both sure to miss the home game. For Lyon, vice-captain Marcelo is most likely to be out on with injury as well while Amine Gouiri will miss the match. One key difference between the first leg and the second for Lyon will be the return of World Cup winner Nabil Fekir who could be a real game changer.

Both teams are undefeated this year in the Champions League and both are coming from huge wins in their own championships. Barcelona have recently won two key matches over Real Madrid and Lyon ended Paris Saint Germain’s unbeaten streak giving them the confidence they may have needed to face FC Barcelona. Lyon have saved their best football for the big matches as we saw against Manchester City and PSG and will be hoping to keep the streak up in possibly their biggest match of the season.