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The second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 encounters is set to continue tonight as Atletico Madrid face Juventus at the Old Lady Stadium with a 2-0 lead, while Manchester City, who won 3-2 at Schalke 04 will face the Bundesliga side at Etihad. Bayern and Liverpool played out a tough draw at Anfield the last time and it's all to play for at the Allianz Arena. Another game that will also gain massive attention is the one between Barcelona and Lyon which will take place at Camp Nou tomorrow.
Barcelona fans were once again a bit too confident on their qualification chances ahead of the first leg of their encounter with the French giants, despite the fact that they have been knocked out three times in a row in the past three years in the knockout games. But, if not for Ter Stegen, the Catalans would have conceded at least 2 goals at the Olympic Lyon Stadium.
Lyon looked a robust side when Barcelona tried to attack, and they were impressively efficient going forward as well. They certainly missed their talisman Nabil Fekir, but the way they managed to cope up without him was brilliant. The two sides played out a goalless draw in the first leg, and it is going to be unpredictable as to who will steal the show tomorrow night.
However, if Barcelona are to emerge victorious in their backyard, here are three things they need to do:
#3 High pressing
Almost every team's major game plan while facing big sides like Barcelona or Real Madrid is to defend deep and attack through counters, Lyon had different plans. They literally played the Barcelona way, starting attacks from the back and not letting Barcelona have much possession on the ball.
Bruno Génésio knew what he had to do - the lesser Barcelona has the ball, the better. The fact that Leo Messi had limited involvement in the game except for a few key passes justifies this approach. Lyon's robust defense won them a draw that day because Barcelona had nearly 5 shots on target, none converted - thanks to some amazing goalkeeping from Anthony Lopes.
One way by which Barcelona can win tomorrow is by pressing high up the pitch in the starting minutes, forcing Lyon to commit early mistakes. This could lead to a goal in the opening minutes of the game and it would be a massive boost for Barca and the chants will grow, even more, making it a difficult night for Lyon.
#2 Arthur, Busquets, and Rakitic must start in midfield
The trio of Arthur Melo, Sergio Busquets, and Ivan Rakitic might just do the job for Barcelona tomorrow night. Although Arturo Vidal has impressed this season by providing defensive cover and putting in well-timed tackles, he lacks proper orchestration of team play and attacking bite, therefore, it will be wise to start the aforementioned midfield trio and keep the Chilean as a backup.
Arthur Melo will provide the extra creativity and attacking threats Barcelona need in the final third as well as in the middle of the pitch. He can deliver in such big games because the lad is probably the most confident when it comes to playing with the ball, after Leo.
Ivan Rakitic offers a lot of attacking threat and is capable of causing Lyon a lot of problems if he finds himself in promising positions, just like he did against Real Madrid in the recent El Classico. Sergio Busquets remains irreplaceable and Barcelona need him to control play from deep and break down opposition attacks from the middle of the pitch.
#1 Inclusion of Nelson Semedo
The fact that Ernesto Valverde started Nelson Semedo on the right flank against Rayo Vallecano raised some worries as he did not take him off in the whole game despite having Sergi Roberto on the bench. This probably suggests that he is planning to use Roberto as a right back tomorrow, and this might terribly backfire.
Roberto is a genius while going forward and attacking, as he understands his teammates' positioning and makes smart runs into the box. But that leaves Rakitic and Pique with huge responsibilities to defend the empty spaces left by Roberto on the right flank.
Nelson Semedo had Memphis Depay in his pocket all the time in the first leg, as the Dutchman was given the least time on the ball out of all Lyon players. He looked frustrated and Semedo deserves complete credit to keep a player of his quality silent throughout the game, something Roberto might not be capable of doing.
As it is an away game for Lyon, they might probably look to play on counter-attacks, exploiting the huge spaces left behind by Barcelona's fullbacks. The idea to play Roberto is likely to backfire, and if Barca gets knocked out from this competition, Valverde's time is most likely over.
Of course, the coach knows better, but according to me, Nelson Semedo must start, as the Portuguese has proven himself to be a player who can participate in attack and also do his defensive duties consistently.
