Champions League SF: Olympique Lyon vs Bayern Munich - Match Preview, Team Update
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| UEFA Champions League Semi-Final: Olympique Lyonnais vs Bayern Munich, Estadio Jose Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal, 20:00. Photo of Lyon: Franck Fife/Pool via Getty Images. Photo of Bayern: Rafael Marchante/Pool via Getty Images. |
After beating Juventus and Manchester City, Lyon will face their biggest test yet, when they lock horns with Bayern Munich in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League.
Bayern Munich and Olympique Lyon will face off in the second semi-final of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday at Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon.
The winners of this tie are set to take on Paris Saint-Germain in the final after the French giants secured a convincing win over RB Leipzig on Tuesday.
And while an all-German final is out of the question, an all-French final is still on the cards, especially given the form Olympique Lyon have shown in the Champions League so far.
Lyon vs Bayern Munich - Today's the day ⬇
— OL English 🇬🇧 (@OL_English) August 19, 2020But despite beating clubs like Manchester City and Juventus, facing Bayern Munich will be a completely different ball-game for Les Gones.
After all, the Bavarians are coming on the back of an 8-2 rout over FC Barcelona that is expected to usher in a series of changes for the Catalan club. Even in the Round of 16, Bayern Munich beat Chelsea with a 7-1 aggregate, meaning they are the clear favourites heading into this tie.
Team Update
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick has not been dealt with any fresh injuries. And despite the impressive cameos from Kingsley Coman and Philippe Coutinho in the last match, the German is unlikely to make any changes to his starting XI.
Flick, however, will face a tactical dilemma as he needs to take into consideration, the pacy and sharp attack of Lyon. Unlike Barcelona, the French outfit has lethal and fast attacking options including Memphis Depay, Moussa Dembele and Karl Toko Ekambi.
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| Bayern Munich Head Coach Hansi Flick. Photo: David Inderlied/picture alliance via Getty Images |
All of these individuals are more than capable of providing a threat on the counter. So it will be interesting to see whether or not Bayern persist with their high defensive line consisting of Joshua Kimmich, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba and Alphonso Davies.
In any case, there will be no change to the assigned roles of the two central midfielders in Thiago Alcantara and Leon Goretzka.
Hansi Flick speaks during a press conference ⬇
And finally, the Bayern Munich attack will be spearheaded by Robert Lewandowski, who will be partnered by the offensive trio of Serge Gnabry, Ivan Perisic and Thomas Muller.🗣️ #Flick: "I'm very impressed with the team. We have a strong team spirit and the quality in training is very high. That gives you confidence in the team. I'm relaxed because I know that the team are extremely focused and have big ambitions." #MissionLis6on #OLFCB #packmas pic.twitter.com/JKVq6Jnlpu— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) August 18, 2020
Olympique Lyonnais
Much like Bayern Munich, Lyon, too, will not have their chances of going through to the final complicated by any injury problems.
Rudi Garcia is likely to retain his tried and tested 3-5-2 formation, with the defensive trio of Marcelo, Jason Denayer and Marcal providing cover for goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.
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| Lyon Head Coach Rudi Garcia. Photo: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images |
These three will undoubtedly employ a deep-defensive line and contain the pressure from the opposition attack.
Both the wing-backs in Leo Dubois and Maxwel Cornet will provide the width going forward and are essential elements in Lyon’s counter-attacking system.
Rudi Garcia speaks during a press conference ⬇
And finally, in the attack, Toko Ekambi may still start ahead of Dembele, who scored a brace against Manchester City in the quarter-final while Depay is a guaranteed starter in the two-man attacking setup.🎙️ @RudiGarcia: "We haven't won anything yet. After qualifying, we had to remain focused for the semi-final. @JuninhoPe08 and I compliment each other well. He's right, we play like we train. We have to listen to what he has to say to the players."#UCL #OLFCB pic.twitter.com/x76EwXVwFK— OL English 🇬🇧 (@OL_English) August 18, 2020
• This is definitely a big game!
Just had to ask cos this is hard to predict...the winner tonight?
Both teams have obviously impressed right from the beginning of the tournament.
Feel free to let us know your favourites to reach the final in the comment section
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