Juventus – Olympique Lyonnais

Juventus lost the first battle, but the war is still not lost. On Friday the Bianconeri will host Olympique Lyonnais in a second leg from the Champions League 1/8-finals. The French club has an advantage after a 1-0 win, but the Italian side will fight to progress in the competition. There’s no doubt about this.

Despite being the favourite, Juventus didn’t make a good game at the Groupama Stadium in February. Olympique Lyonnais’ Lucas Tousart scored the winning goal for Les Gones. Juve had enough time to fight back, but their efforts didn’t come to a result. Neither Maurizio Sarri’s substitutions.

Maurizio Sarri led Juventus to the Serie A title, but the manager is in a difficult situation at the moment. In Italy it’s being rumoured that Sarri could be sacked if his team get eliminated by Olympique Lyonnais. It’s not a secret that winning the Champions League is Juventus’ biggest goal, so elimination in the 1/8-finals will not be accepted well in Turin.

Olympique Lyonnais won the first leg, but they must expect some difficult 90 minutes at the Allianz Stadium. Juventus has enough striking force to cause trouble, so Lyonnais’ manager Rudi Garcia must prepare his team well for the challenge. It seems likely that Lyonnais will be defending in most of the time, but Juventus must be careful with the French team’s counter-attacks as well.

Maurizio Sarri must make some choices regarding his team’s attack. Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala are guaranteed starters, while most likely Sarri will chose between Juan Cuadrado and Filippo Bernardeschi for the third spot in his 4-3-3 formation.

Whoever thinks this tie between Juventus and Olympique Lyonnais is over is just a fool. The Italian side is ready to fight for its place in the 1/4-finals, but the same could be said about the Frenchmen as well. Could this 1-0 win be enough for Lyonnais? We highly doubt it, but let’s see.