Last week saw big guns like Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain crash out of the Champions League despite enjoying an advantage after the first leg. Spanish giants Barcelona will be hoping that they get the job done against Lyon following a goalless draw in the first leg.
Ernesto Valverde’s men forgot their scoring boots in Barcelona when they drew blank in Lyon last month and failed to do justice to all the chances created by the midfield. Lyon on the other hand clearly missed the suspended Nabil Fekir and looked lost in the final third.
The tie is wide open and 90 minutes – or possibly more – at the Camp Nou will decide which team will be advancing to the quarter-finals. We take a look at the key-players who can make the difference in this potential nail-biter.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Lionel Messi is usually the difference-maker in most ties involving Barcelona, but this game is different. The Argentine has rightly been accused of ghosting in crunch Champions League fixtures in the past couple of seasons and this is his chance to come clean.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner failed to inspire his team and prevent a debacle against Roma last season. In the 2016/17 season, Barcelona were knocked out from the competition by Juventus in the quarter-finals and Messi was unable to stamp his name on the big stage yet again.
After being named the captain of the team, Messi famously addressed the Camp Nou crowd and promised that the team would do everything to bring the Champions League trophy back to Catalonia this season. In light of that, this could be his most important game of the campaign so far.
Lionel Messi
The potential absence of Ousmane Dembele means that Messi will have to step up a notch and have to power Barcelona to the quarter-finals. The 31-year-old is definitely aware that this is Barcelona’s best chance to win a sixth Champions League, with some of the big guns out of the picture. Messi will be looking to take advantage of this situation and provide the Camp Nou crowd a night to remember.
Nabil Fekir (Lyon)
Nabil Fekir has arguably been Lyon’s best player in the Champions League this season. The Frenchman – who missed the game due to suspension – was sorely missed in the first leg in which the hosts failed to create any clear goal-scoring opportunities.
Fekir registered about 2.6 key-passes per 90 minutes in the group stages of the competition. Only Messi (3.6) and Neymar (3.6) created more.
One goal from the visitors will leave Barcelona needing at least two. The past few seasons are witness to the fact that the Catalans are bad at chasing a game in a crunch European fixture.
A chart showing how the forwards have performed in the Champions League this season
Fekir will be looking to link attack and defence and perform as the focal point of Lyon’s attack while having a goal at go himself if needed. The Frenchman can definitely hit the headlines on Thursday morning after an inspiring performance against the tournament favourites.
Arthur (Barcelona)
Lyon’s midfield outplayed a one that was coached by Pep Guardiola earlier this season and that is probably one of the biggest compliments they can get. On Wednesday, Arthur will be tasked to control the tempo against such a midfield.
The visitors are bound to press hard to get an early goal and Barcelona will be looking to get the press-resistant Brazilian on the ball very often. The pressure on the midfielder will be immense and it will be interesting to see how he will react.
Tanguy Ndombele and Houssem Aouar have impressed in midfield this season and are already attracting interest from top European clubs. With Nabil Fekir adding extra pressure, this could very well prove to be Arthur’s biggest test in midfield.
Arthur
The Brazilian completely dominated the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric twice this season but the stakes are much higher now.
Should the Brazilian assert his dominance in the centre of the pitch, Barcelona will be handed a significant advantage in terms of controlling the flow and tempo of the game. He needs to assist Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets in order to dominate Lyon’s midfield.
