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Champions League semi-final preview: Bayern Munich vs Lyon

Bayern Munich will face off against Lyon in the second Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night. Paris Saint-Germain are already through to the final of the elite competition after their comfortable 3-0 win over RB Leipzig.

Hansi Flick’s side have been the in-form team in Europe since mid-December and they have remained unbeaten over the past 28 matches with 27 of those ending in victories.

They go into the upcoming game on a staggering 19-match winning run and are regarded as the genuine favourites to lift the trophy after their 8-2 humbling of Barcelona in the quarter-final stage.

Meanwhile, Les Gones are the rank outsiders for the semi-final clash, but they will go into the contest with confidence after their superb win over Manchester City in the previous round.

Rudi Garcia’s side registered a 3-1 triumph over the Premier League outfit and they were able to benefit from the counter-attack as they pounced on the Cityzens’ average defensive display.

Head-to-Head meetings:

Bayern and Lyon have faced each other on eight occasions in the Champions League and the former have had the edge with four wins, two draws and two defeats.

Their most recent meetings came during the 2009/10 Champions League semi-final where Bayern comfortably won across both legs by a 4-0 scoreline. They ultimately lost the final to Inter Milan.

Players to watch out for:

Robert Lewandowski – Bayern Munich: The Poland international has been in sensational form for Bayern over the course of the season and he has accumulated 54 goals from just 45 appearances. Out of that tally, 14 have come in Europe’s premier competition and he is only three goals shy of Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring record for a single Champions League season. Lewandowski will pose a genuine threat on goal on Wednesday, but Lyon may also need to watch for his distribution in the final third. The 31-year-old has bagged five assists from the past three European games.

Moussa Dembele – Lyon: The Frenchman only came off the bench in the 75th minute against the Cityzens and he produced a superb game-changing display. With the scores at 1-1, Dembele scored off a counter-attack and put the game to bed three minutes from time after pouncing on a goalkeeping error from Ederson. Dembele and Memphis Depay have netted a combined tally of 39 goals this term and the duo need to play to the best of their abilities for Les Gones to reach their first ever Champions League final.

Injuries:

Bayern have a clean bill of health for the semi-final. Benjamin Pavard has been out for the past month with an ankle ligament injury, but he has been training with the squad in the lead-up to clash. The Frenchman could be restricted to a bench role. Meanwhile, Lyon also have no injuries to worry about. There are no suspended players on either side.

Predicted Lineup:

Bayern are unlikely to make any changes after their stunning 8-2 win over Barcelona. Joshua Kimmich should continue in the right-back spot with Pavard just returning after a month lay-off through injury.

4-2-3-1: Manuel Neuer; Joshua Kimmich, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba, Alphonso Davies; Leon Goretzka, Thiago Alcantara; Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller, Ivan Perisic; Robert Lewandowski

Lyon should make the solitary change for the clash. Karl Toko Ekambi should be replaced by Moussa Dembele after his late heroics against Pep Guardiola’s side.

3-5-2: Anthony Lopes; Jason Denayer, Marcelo, Fernando Marcal; Leo Dubois, Maxence Caqueret, Bruno Guimaraes, Houssem Aouar, Maxwell Cornet; Moussa Dembele, Memphis Depay

Prediction:

Bayern’s attacking style of play does contribute to them conceding the odd goal, but we don’t see Lyon hanging onto any advantage on the night. They should win comfortably at the Estádio José Alvalade with the superior quality on both ends of the field.

We are backing Bayern to win 4-1 and qualify for their first Champions League final since 2013. Lewandowski can be fancied to continue his scoring streak, having already netted in each of his eight Champions League appearances this term.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

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