Barcelona threat to Lyon fightback

Olympique Lyonnais go into their final home game in Group E looking to continue the recent revival that has restored their hopes of reaching the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds for the fifth successive season.

• Successive wins against VfB Stuttgart have lifted the French champions to within a point of second-placed Rangers FC but Alain Perrin and his players will be only too aware that a third straight win will not come easily against an FC Barcelona side who need only a point to ensure their own progress to the last 16.

• Barcelona, who lie three points above second-placed Rangers, will be assured both qualification and first place either if they win or if they draw and the Scottish side fail to beat VfB Stuttgart in Germany.

• Lyon will be looking to avenge their 3-0 defeat at Camp Nou on 19 September, when François Clerc's 21st-minute own goal gave Barcelona an advantage they extended through late efforts from Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry.

• The damage of that defeat was doubled when Lyon lost 3-0 at home to Rangers in their second group fixture but they subsequently bounced back by taking six points from their double-header with Stuttgart.

• Hatem Ben Arfa (2), Kim Källström and Juninho Pernambucano were the scorers in the French league leader's 4-2 home success against the German champions on Matchday 4. Lyon had previously prevailed 2-0 away in Stuttgart thanks to second-half goals from Fábio Santos and Karim Benzema.

• Barcelona built on their Matchday 1 victory against Lyon by beating Stuttgart 2-0 in Germany with second-half goals from Carles Puyol and Messi. They then took four points from their two encounters with Rangers, following up a goalless draw in Glasgow with a 2-0 home victory secured by strikes from Henry and Messi.

• Barcelona eliminated Lyon from the UEFA Champions League at the same stage of the competition in 2001/02. Then as now Lyon welcomed the Spanish club to the Stade de Gerland on Matchday 5 having previously recorded two wins and two defeats.

• On a dramatic night Lyon's hopes were crushed by a winning strike for Barcelona four minutes into added time from Gerard López, this after the hosts had responded to early Patrick Kluivert (9) and Rivaldo (18) goals by fighting back to draw level through Péguy Luyindula (66) and Eric Carrière (88). Barcelona, who had already beaten Lyon 2-0 at Camp Nou, duly advanced to the next stage as group winners with their opponents finishing third.

• The teams that night were
Lyon: Grégory Coupet, Jean-Marc Chanelet, Edmílson, Patrick Müller, Jérémie Bréchet, Juninho Pernambucano, Philippe Violeau, Marc-Vivien Foé, Eric Carrière, Péguy Luyindula, Sidney Govou.
Barcelona: Roberto Bonano, Carles Puyol, Philippe Cristanval, Frank de Boer, Francesco Coco, Gabri García, Xavi Hernández, Phillip Cocu, Luis Enrique, Patrick Kluivert, Rivaldo.

• Coupet, Müller, Juninho and Govou all remain in the Lyon squad but their former team-mate Edmílson is now on Barcelona's books along with Eric Abidal, who swapped the Gerland for Camp Nou last summer.

• Lyon have recorded three wins and two losses in home games against Spanish opposition, with all those victories – including a 2-0 success against Real Madrid CF last term – coming in the wake of their aforementioned defeat by Barcelona.

• For Barcelona, the victory at the Stade de Gerland in 2001 was their third away to French opposition. However, their five previous visits have also included two defeats.

• The Blaugrana beat another French side, Paris Saint-Germain FC, in the final of the 1996/97 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in Rotterdam, Ronaldo scoring the only goal from the penalty spot.