Lyon vs. Bayern Munich:German giants remain hard to oppose

The 2019-20 Champions League campaign moves to the semi-final stage this week and there should be a cracker in Lisbon on Wednesday evening when Lyon take on Bayern Munich.

It will take another huge effort from the Ligue 1 outfit to reach their first Champions League final and there is a feeling that Wednesday’s contest may be one hurdle too many for Rudi Garcia’s men.

German champions Bayern thrashed Barcelona 8-2 to book a place in the semi-finals, while Lyon – seventh-placed finishers in Ligue 1 – stunned Manchester City with a 3-1 win.

Bayern are no doubt the heavy favourites but Lyon cannot be underestimated, as they have knocked out Juventus and City in the last two rounds of the competition. Even though Bayern showed against Barcelona they are vulnerable at the back, they surely have far too much firepower for Lyon to contain.

The winner of this tie will face either Paris Saint-Germain in Saturday’s final.

Stats:

  • Bayern Munich and Lyon will meet in European competition for the ninth time, with the German side winning four of the previous eight.
  • The last time they met was also in the Champions League semi-finals, with Bayern winning 4-0 on aggregate in 2009-10.
  • This will be Bayern Munich’s 12th appearance in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
  • Lyon have not won consecutive Champions League matches in a single campaign since the 2011-12 season.
  • Lyon have now scored in eight of their nine Champions League matches this season.

Bayern is already the favourites of many to go all the way in this year’s competition and lift the European Cup for a sixth time.

It is a difficult game to predict given the form both the sides have shown in the Champions League so far.

No team in Champions League history have won their first nine games in a campaign, something that Bayern can achieve with another victory on Wednesday. Lyon may have knocked out Juventus and Man City, but Flick’s rampant side have been nothing short of phenomenal either side of the coronavirus-enforced hiatus and are big favourites to prevail here.

Bayern are expected to see more of the ball, meaning Lyon will have a lot more defending to do, and this should bring the cards market into play the further the game goes on.

Bayern Munich -1.5 @ 1.65

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