Lyon-Bayern Munich: Champions League Semifinal Second Leg Preview

In the first of two Champions League semifinal second legs, Bayern Munich will travel to the Stade de Gerland in Lyon nursing a 1-0 lead on aggregate as they face Lyon.

Bayern dominated the first leg and were unlucky not to score more than the one goal they did via a redirected strike from Arjen Robben off of Thomas Muller.

But as usual, Lyon were able to keep Bayern's attack at bay whenever necessary, and they may consider themselves lucky that they are still in this tie.

In this preview I will give a break down of the entire semifinal, team news, players to watch, and, of course, my final prediction.

Preview

Well, this is the first of the two semifinal matches, and by no means is this an easy match to call.

At the Stade de Gerland (where Lyon are yet to lose to a side outside of France during this season), Lyon will certainly think that their chances are high as they look to make their first Champions League final.

But they have a Bayern Munich squad that has always managed to advance whenever the odds are against them and they are away from the Allianz Arena during this Champions League season.

After getting past Juventus, Fiorentina, and Manchester United in the final match of each section, Bayern will once again try to recreate their old magic.

Last weekend, Bayern were held to a 1-1 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach, while Lyon—who have stayed away from the city and have followed the same procedure that they had against Real Madrid in the Round of 16—have not played a match since last Wednesday in Munich.

In this match, Lyon manager Claude Puel said: “We tend to play a lot better when we go out looking for a result rather than just defending," which implies that Lyon will be an attacking side in this matchup.

Meanwhile for Bayern, manager Louis van Gaal stated, "We always play to attack; we're not a team who can defend and avoid conceding goals. We've not played any differently all season and we're not going to start now," which is telling us that Bayern will also look to exploit Lyon while they are on the attack.

If the match follows the exact pre-match plans of their managers, we could be in for a high-scoring match.

Team News

In that first leg, both sides lost a key player due to a red card they received. For Bayern, it was French winger Franck Ribery who they will be without in the second leg; for Lyon, defensive midfielder Jeremy Toulalan will be absent.

Bayern Munich will also be without Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, and doubts also persist over the fitness of Martin Demichelis and Daniel Van Buyten. The German's will also be without Danijel Pranjic due to accumulation of Yellow Cards.

Players to Watch

Lyon: For Lyon, the main player to watch will have to be Hugo Lloris. The young Frenchman has been nothing short of spectacular this season in the Champions League, and he knows that this matchup could be his biggest test before the World Cup.

Bayern Munich: Mark van Bommel is the player to watch for me, as he did miss the first leg due to suspension, but is now the player that could truly be the deciding factor in this match.

Prediction

This is a matchup that has me split as these are two great sides that are worthy of making the Champions League final.

For Lyon, they score timely goals and could take down anyone during any match in the Champions League.

But Bayern Munich are a side that have been able to manage their way away from Munich whenever they need to in the Champions League.

After thinking everything over, I am going with Lyon to win this match by a 2-1 score, but it will be Bayern Munich who will go to the Champions League final based on away goals.

Finally, after a spectacular Champions League campaign for both Lyon and Bayern Munich this season, one of these two sides will have their Champions League dream end at the Stade de Gerland while one of these two sides' dream will continue as they will travel to the Bernabeu for the Champions League final on Saturday, May 22.