Tonight, a giant, Bayern Munich will come face-to-face with a giant slayer, Lyon in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon, Portugal. The winner will match straight to the final to take on French Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain which have in-form Brazilian forward Neymar and France talisman Kylian Mbappe.
Naturally, tonight’s game should be an easy one for German Bundesliga champions but the French side which finished 7th on the Ligue 1 table in the canceled 2019-2020 season, has proven to be a very hard nut to crack.
On their way to the semi-finals, they have knocked out Italian Serie A champions Juventus in the round of 16 despite having 5 times Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo leading their attack. When the followers of the Champions League thought they have done enough in the competition, they met Pep Guardiola’s led Manchester City in the quarter-finals of the competition. As least expected, the French club stunned the Premier League club 3-1 to book a date with Bayern Munich.
These are Lyon’s precedents that should scare any big club as far as the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions campaign is concerned but they say, “underdogs will always be underdogs” especially when they meet their predator.
The Ruthless Bayern Munich
The eyes of the world will be in Lisbon to see whether Bayern Munich is that predator that will end Lyon’s surprising ride through the UEFA Champions League or whether Lyon will maintain their giant’s slayer status tonight.
However, it is worthy of note that Bayern Munich fears no foes especially so far in the competition. Just like how Lyon slew two strong opponents on their way to the Semi-finals of the Champions League, Bayern has also enjoyed such triumph and they did it in grand style.
Recall that they met with Chelsea football club in the round of 16 and they knocked them out 7-1 on aggregate. They met with Spanish La Liga giants Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the competition and they knocked them out 8-2.
So, it will be a miracle if Lyon is able to stop a Bayern Munich side that has goals machine Robert Lewandowski leading the attack who is well supported by versatile Thomas Muller. Lewandowski has scored in the last 8 Champions League matches and he will most likely score in today’s game to make it the 9th consecutive Champions League match that he has scored at least a goal.
Only two players have performed so well in the Champions League – Ruud Van Nistelrooy, he scored in 9 consecutive matches in 2003; Cristiano Ronaldo, he scored in 11 consecutive Champions League matches in 2018.
How to watch Lyon vs. Bayern on TV and online:
The Lyon vs. Bayern Munich match will be transmitted live on United Kingdom-based television sports channels BT Sport 1 and BT Sport Extra 1, as well as BT Sport Ultimate. Though the match will kick off exactly 8 PM (UK time), the match’s coverage will commence at 7 pm.
To watch it online, you have to subscribe to BT Sport website and app. The match can be streamed live on those platforms in real-time.
Team News – Lyon
Moussa Dembele’s performance against Manchester City which saw him score two goals might tempt the manager of Lyon, Rudi Garcia, to drop Karl Toko Ekambi for Dembele.
Besides that, since there are no injury worries for the French side, the manager is most likely going to stick with the first eleven that defeated Manchester City 3-1 in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Lyon probable starting lineup:
Lopes; Marcelo, Denayer, Marcal; Dubois, Caqueret, Guimaraes, Aouar, Cornet; Ekambi, Memphis
Lyon Champions League form: WLDWLW
Lyon’s form (all competitions): WLLLLW
Team News – Bayern Munich
The manager of Bayern Munich Hansi Flick would be delighted that his defender Benjamin Pavard has started light training ahead of tonight’s encounter but he might not risk using the defender tonight.
Besides that, the manager has no injury worries and he might likely stick with the first eleven that disgraced Barcelona out of the Champions League with an 8-2 defeat.
Bayern Munich probable starting lineup:
Neuer; Kimmich, Boateng, Alaba, Davies; Goretzka, Thiago; Gnabry, Muller, Coman; Lewandowski
Bayern Munich’s Champions League form: WWWWWW
Bayern Munich’s form (all competitions): WWWWWW
