Lyon VS Barcelona Match Prediction
2019-02-19
20:00:00
Lyon
VS
Barcelona
Our Prediction Tip
Draw will win this match.
2019-02-1920:00:00 Draw will win this match.
Barcelona and Lyon have played six times before, but the most recent meetings took place way back in 2009 in this same round. Juninho put on a free kick masterclass, but it wasn’t nearly enough at the Catalans swept them aside 6-3 on aggregate. In those six matches, Barcelona have never lost, winning four times and drawing twice.
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Bet365 have the following odds available for this match:
Lyon are at 3/1 to win, a draw is at 16/5, and a Barcelona win is at 8/11.
Lyon come into this match in pretty fine form. They sit in third in Ligue 1 at the moment, well within the Champions League places on 46 points. They have work to do in order to move up, but they recently won out against PSG, so that is a major accomplishment to hand them their first Ligue loss of the season. A loss to Nice was a setback, but make no mistake about it, this is a very dangerous team. The way they played against Manchester City in the group stages should not be overlooked at all. Barcelona, meanwhile, come into this tie on top of La Liga currently. Real Madrid have closed the gap of late, but they still look to be big favorites to take the league with relative ease. But, with the Champions League starting back, and also with the Copa del Rey as well, there will be a slight fear that they might get a little bit tripped up. This is obviously still a dangerous team, but they have tripped up in the knockout rounds of this competition the last few years and will need to overcome all of that to find success once again.
In the group stages, Lyon finished second in a very tough group that included Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk, and Hoffenheim. Two extraordinary showings against City defined their group, and it shows they can step up to the challenge of a big side, and one that values attacking and possession, much like Barcelona do. Speaking of the visitors, they strolled through the group stages in Group B with an unbeaten record. They got through Spurs, Inter, and PSV by scoring 14 times, but the group has not been a good indicator for them of late, so it can be taken with a grain of salt.
Lyon have eight wins, six draws, and three losses at home this season across all competitions. It doesn’t sound like a great record, and it’s not the best for sure, but does include two results worth pointing out. A draw against the aforementioned Citizens and a win over PSG to start February show they can pick up their game against the biggest teams in Europe. Barcelona’s away record, on the other hand, have ten wins, four draws, and three defeats so far this season. The big problem is that two of those losses have come in the last four away trips, while three of their last four games have ended without a win. This, though, is a different occasion and this is where they should be turning on the form if they are going to compete for Europe’s biggest prize again.
Messi scoring anytime is at 1.5 at Betfair.
Ladbrokes have both teams to score at ½.
Nabil Fekir is a different player from Juninho, but he can have the same sort of effect on this tie that the Brazilian had nearly a decade ago. With that said, it’s hard to imagine Barcelona losing the tie overall, and they definitely won’t let it get away from them in the first leg. A draw would be a decent showing for both.
Bruno Genesio is having to deal with injuries to Rafael, Amine Gouiri, and Jon Morel at the moment, so expect those three to miss this match at home to the La Liga giants.
Nabil Fekir is without a doubt the best player on this team and is also one of the best players currently plying his trade outside of the very biggest clubs. His goal at the weekend, which proved to be a winner, is just the latest example of his capabilities, and he could show just hwy Chelsea and Liverpool have been chasing him by adding to his three goals and two assists in the competition so far. Memphis Depay is another man to watch. He’s been reinvigorated in the past year or so, and can provide the telling blow to the Catalans.
Lyon have four wins and a loss in their last five matches:
2-1 home win vs Guingamp
1-0 loss at Nice
1-2 win at Guingamp (Coupe de France)
2-1 home win vs PSG
0-1 win at Amiens
Ernesto Valverde is missing Jasper Cillesen, Samuel Umtiti, Rafinha, and Arthur for this much tougher trip to Lyon than many are giving credit to. He made some alterations at the weekend, but expect him to play his very best in this match.
There can’t be a key man without mentioning Lionel Messi. With him in their side, Barcelona are a totally different team than without the Argentine. They look devoid of all inspiration with him sidelined, and he will very much be expected to add to the six goals he’s already piled up to date in this competition in this season alone. Aside from him, Luis Suarez is another to watch. He’s not been up to snuff in recent weeks and has yet to register a UCL goal, but he’ll be itching to turn that around and make it right.
Barcelona have two wins and three draws in their last five matches:
1-0 home win vs Real Valladolid
0-0 draw at Athletic Bilbao
1-1 home draw vs Real Madrid (Copa del Rey)
2-2 home draw vs Valencia
6-1 home win vs Sevilla (Copa del Rey)
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