Benfica and Lyon coy over making first move

Unbeaten against French opponents on home soil, SL Benfica will be looking for more of the same when they host Group B rivals Olympique Lyonnais on Tuesday. The Portuguese side fell to a 2-0 defeat in Lyon on UEFA Champions League Matchday 3 but Jorge Jesus is sure they will be better prepared as they seek to add to their tally of three points in the section. Though Lyon still boast a 100% record, Claude Puel insists the onus is on their hosts to deliver.

Jorge Jesus, Benfica coach
It's very important to win. There is always pressure at Benfica, no matter who the opposition. Lyon have got out of the group stage in each of the last ten seasons and they're playing their 100th match in this competition, so they have an advantage over us. I don't feel Lyon are weaker without Lisandro and [Aly] Cissokho; we are weaker without [Óscar] Cardozo and Ruben Amorim.

We know Lyon better now. We have ideas we can pass on to the players in order to avoid mistakes we made in Lyon. The red card for Nicolás Gaitán was the worst thing that happened to us there – at this level it is very hard with one man down. I expect a tactically different Lyon to be waiting for us, knowing they need just a point to qualify.

Claude Puel, Lyon coach
Players love these matches, this music, they forget the fatigue and are always eager to play. With all these injuries we expect the other players to say, 'present'. Benfica have one small advantage because they have had one more day of rest having played on Friday. In front of their fans I expect them to be the favourites, like we were in Lyon.

Benfica played well in Lyon but after the red card things became hard for them – we all know these matches are much more intense. They have skilful players and we must be at our best to get a result. We are here to win but if we don't qualify, we have two more matches to achieve it. Lisandro [being absent] is a big blow for us but we must provide a quality replacement to do the job.

Team news
• Benfica
Cardozo has not played since sustaining knee ligament damage on Matchday 2. Ruben Amorim has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury against Sporting Clube de Portugal on 19 September. Roderick remains absent after sustaining a hamstring knock in pre-season training. Gaitán is suspended.

• Lyon
Michel Bastos expects to play despite bruising his right thigh at the weekend, although Lisandro is out for three weeks with a calf problem. Cissokho (thigh), Jérémy Toulalan (foot), Ederson (thigh) and César Delgado (thigh) are not in the squad, but Jean Makoun (thigh) and Miralem Pjanić (groin) both came through Monday training.

Weekend results
29/10/10 Benfica 2-0 FC Paços de Ferreira
(Aimar 14, Kardec 65pen)
Alan Kardec scored his first Liga goal as Benfica, without the rested Carlos Martins, claimed a fifth successive Liga victory. They have not conceded a league goal during that run, and have kept six clean sheets in their last nine games in all competitions.

30/10/10 Lyon 2-1 FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
(Bastos 31, Lacazette 69; Brown Ideye 66)
Clément Grenier made his first Ligue 1 start, while substitute Alexandre Lacazette – making his third first-team appearance – struck his first goal for the club.

Did you know?
In nine home fixtures against Ligue 1 visitors in UEFA competition, Benfica have won five and drawn four. Of their four previous games in Portugal, Lyon have lost two and won only one, a 1-0 victory against SC Farense in the 1995/96 UEFA Cup first round.

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