Bayern wary of Lyon exploits

FC Bayern München have been urged to look no further than Olympique Lyonnais's exploits in eliminating two of Europe's most successful clubs this season as evidence that the French club provide a genuine threat to their hopes of reaching the UEFA Champions League final. The warning came from Louis van Gaal's assistant, Andries Jonker, who was deputising for the Bayern coach while he attended a family funeral. Claude Puel, meanwhile, made light of his team's journey by road to Bavaria for Wednesday's semi-final opener, and knows "anything is possible" once the serious business begins.

Andries Jonker, Bayern assistant coach
We had a good training session and all the players are fit. We didn't have any problems at all. Lyon have a very good team – they have beaten Liverpool and Real Madrid. They are very organised and their defence is always compact. We will try to play our game as we always do.

It will not be an easy game for Lyon, who have seven players [one booking away from suspension], but we will not try to provoke yellow cards, that is not Bayern München's style. [Suspended captain] Mark van Bommel is a very important player for us, but we have others who can replace him. We have won games without Mark and will find a good solution without him.

Claude Puel, Lyon coach
The trip was not a problem – we are used to travelling and now we know the French and the German landscape a little bit better. Why should the semi-final be the end for us? We are expecting two games against strong opponents and we have to try our very best. Everything is possible now, not only for Bayern but also for us.

We have many players who have to be careful because of yellow cards, but we will not change anything because of this. If we have to substitute a player that will not be a problem, we can do that. Bayern and ourselves have had very similar seasons. The autumn was a critical time but we've become better and better these last few months. Bayern have got a lot of individual class and character, but so have we. It is 50-50.

Team news
Bayern
Out: none
Doubtful: none
Suspended: Mark van Bommel, Holger Badstuber
Misses next match if booked: Danijel Pranjić

• Miroslav Klose missed the weekend victory against Hannover 96 due to an abdominal infection.

Lyon
Out: François Clerc (knee), Joan Hartock (ruptured Achilles), Mathieu Bodmer (hamstring), Jean-Alain Boumsong (calf)
Doubtful: Jean II Makoun (groin), Lisandro (ankle)
Suspended: none
Misses next match if booked: Aly Cissokho, César Delgado, Maxime Gonalons, Kim Källström, Cris, Miralem Pjanić, Jérémy Toulalan

• Cissokho returned from an ankle problem to face FC Girondins de Bordeaux on Saturday.

• Having not played for Lyon since 16 January 2008, Anderson was an unused substitute against Bordeaux after recovering from knee and shoulder injuries respectively. He replaces Boumsong.

Weekend results
17/04/10 Bayern 7-0 Hannover 96
(Olić 21 49, Robben 30 50 90+1, Müller 44 62)

• Arjen Robben's first hat-trick for Bayern secured their biggest league win in 84 games since moving to the Fußball Arena München. The Dutch international has scored 16 goals in his last 18 appearances.

• They remain two points ahead of FC Schalke 04 with three games to go.

17/04/10 FC Girondins de Bordeaux 2-2 Lyon
(Chamakh 25, Plašil 62; Ederson 55, Cris 71)

• In a rematch of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final, Lyon had Anthony Réveillère sent off and Bordeax ended with nine men. Lyon are third, nine points behind Olympique de Marseille.

• With flying not an option, Lyon made the 540km journey back from Bordeaux by road, while they covered almost 800km more driving to Munich with an overnight stop in Stuttgart.

Background
• Lyon are making their debut at this stage, while Bayern have won seven of their previous 12 semi-finals (won two, lost two in the UEFA Champions League era).

• The clubs have met six times in the UEFA Champions League group stage, with two wins each and two draws. In Munich, it was 1-1 last season, Lyon won 2-1 in 2003/04 and Bayern won 1-0 in 2000/01.

Team Ties
• Bayern's Franck Ribéry never got the better of Lyon in four Ligue 1 meetings, one with FC Metz and three at Marseille. However, he did help OM beat them twice in the French Cup.

Did you know?
• Van Gaal is hoping to become only the third coach after Ernst Happel and Ottmar Hitzfeld to win the European Champion Clubs' Cup with two different clubs, having triumphed with AFC Ajax in 1995.

Read more on the match in the official UEFA Champions League press kit.