Real Madrid face off against Lyon in the second-leg of their Champions League encounter in the early hours of Thursday morning. Both sides have a great chance at progressing to the Quarter Finals of the competition – after they drew 1-1 in the first leg – with Madrid holding the priceless home-field advantage. Both teams are looking to improve on recent performances in Europe’s elite club competition.
MATCH OVERVIEW:
Madrid will be determined to get past Lyon on Thursday, as if they fail again, it will mark the seventh successive year in which their campaign has ended in the Second Round. With the tie delicately poised, the pressure of past successes and recent failures, expectation will be weighing heavily on Coach Jose Mourinho and his players.
The Spanish Giants – undefeated in the competition this year – had a dream lead up to the encounter. Their weekend meeting, against Spanish League minnows Hercules, allowed Madrid to rest many of their key players whilst still picking up a comfortable 2-0 victory.
The return of their Portuguese mega-star Cristiano Ronaldo, coupled with an injury free squad to choose from, means the passionate “Madridistas” will be full of confidence before kick-off.
French club Lyon has been somewhat of a bogey team for Madrid in recent times, as the Spaniards have never mustered a victory against their French foes. Unfortunately, Lyon’s form in the Champions League doesn’t look promising, having suffered defeat in their last two encounters played away from home.
Yet they tuned up well for the massive encounter with a confident 2-0 win against FC Sochaux on the weekend.
Lyon’s hopes of taking anything from the match will rest heavily on their ability to keep Madrid’s potent offensive attack quiet. Yet Lyon doesn’t have the option of simply shutting up shop in Madrid, as after the 1-1 result in the first leg, Lyon will need to score at least one goal if they are to progress.
With Brazilian star Michel Bastos joining Frenchman Aly Cissokho on the sidelines, the returns of star players Lisandro Lopez and Yoann Gourcuff becomes an even more important inclusion for the match.
KEY FACTS:
- Real Madrid are yet to concede a goal at home in this years Champions League
- Lyon eliminated Madrid last season on the way to making the Semi-Finals in the competition
- Real Madrid are the most successful club in history in the competition, claiming Nine titles
- Madrid is undefeated at home in all competitions this season.
PREDICTION
Both clubs should be relatively familiar with each other with this being the fourth encounter in the last two years. Unquestionably, Lyon has enjoyed some wonderful success against their heavily favored rivals in the past, yet that all appears to come to an end. The much superior Madrid squad, bolstered by a successful result in the first leg and the tutelage of master coach Jose Mourinho, should comfortably dispose of Lyon and move on in the competition.
REAL MADRID 3 – LYON 0
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