UEFA Champions League: Lyon Versus Bordeaux Quarterfinal's First Leg

The Champions League continues this week with the Quarterfinal's first leg ties. The first match will be an all-French affair with Bordeaux traveling to the Stade Gerland to take on Lyon.

Over the last two seasons the tables have turned in French soccer, it is now Bordeaux on the hunt to repeat as domestic champions and Lyon is trying to get back to past dominance. 

The two teams are No. 1 and No. 5 respectively, with only two points separating them. This is a big occasion because this is the first time two French teams are playing each other in the Champions League.

For Lyon, their path to get here was slightly harder than Bordeaux's. They were in a group with a competitive Fiorentina side and the legendary Liverpool, yet still managed to top the group. They took on the mighty Real Madrid in the last round, with most (NOT including myself) expecting them to lose.

Now they find themselves in an unfamiliar stage of the competition, but against familiar opposition.

This Lyon side is made of hard workers, playing an unrelenting style of team defense. They love to soak up pressure and come back on the counter attack; this is how they beat Real Madrid in the last round.

In order for them to win this tie they will need to keep defending in this fashion. Even the forwards must pitch in. There are many key players to watch on this team, but the three that stand out are forward Lisandro Lopez, forward/midfielder Cesar Delgado and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

As for Bordeaux, they had the tougher group, hands down. They had to get through Bayern Munich and Juventus before defeating Olympiacos in the last round.

By no means is this team scared to travel to the Lyon, as they are required to do so at least once every season. Coach Laurent Blanc has built a team of ball movers, they love to pass and get the ball wide to their wingers of fullbacks. They like to apply their pressure on set pieces, and why wouldn’t they with the height they have?

Watch for the way they attack the ball, whether it be on a set piece or in open play, they attack the ball in waves. If I were to select three players to watch, they would be midfielder Yoann Gourcuff, striker Marouane Chamakh and left wingback Benoît Trémoulinas.

Kamal's Prediction: I pick Lyon to win this tie over the two legs. It's a shame that they got matched up against each other, and one of them will be out. I pick Lyon solely on their defensive style, if you play defense like that you become tough to beat.

For my other Champions League articles:

Bayern Munich versus Manchester United: http://tinyurl.com/y8waz2x

Inter Milan versus CSKA Moscow: http://tinyurl.com/ybcd5k9

Arsenal versus Barcelona: http://tinyurl.com/yjdkned