Lyon v Barcelona background

Lyon are in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds for the first time in seven seasons, but to progress further must now overcome a Barcelona side who have been eliminated only twice at this juncture of the competition – and who are unbeaten against the French club.

• While the French side are in the round of 16 for the first time since 2011/12, Barcelona have featured every year bar the first since its 2003/04 introduction – 15 years in a row – and have won 12 of their previous 14 ties.

• First in Group B this season, Barcelona have lost only one of their last 17 UEFA Champions League matches and are unbeaten this season, as are Lyon; Les Gones finished second behind Manchester City in Group F after drawing their last five games. This is the only round of 16 tie between two clubs who went unbeaten through the group stage.

Previous meetings
• The most recent of the sides' six meetings came in the 2008/09 round of 16, when Barcelona won 6-3 on aggregate en route to lifting the trophy. After a 1-1 draw in Lyon, the Spanish club were 5-2 victors at the Camp Nou, Lionel Messi scoring the third goal. Gerard Piqué also played in both games, with Sergio Busquets featuring at the Stade de Gerland.

• Those were the teams' only previous knockout fixtures. They met in the 2001/02 first group stage and the 2007/08 group stage; Barcelona won each home game without conceding and earned a win and a draw in France, Messi scoring both home (3-0) and away (2-2) in the latter campaign.

Form guide
Lyon
• This is Lyon's tenth UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie, and a first in seven seasons. They won the first three ties but have lost five of the last six, most recently being beaten on penalties by APOEL of Cyprus in 2011/12.

• Lyon's last victory in the round of 16 came at the expense of Barcelona's great rivals Real Madrid, who they beat 2-1 on aggregate in 2009/10 (1-0 home, 1-1 away).

• Lyon have lost at home only once at this stage of the UEFA Champions League, 2-0 against Roma in 2006/07. Their home record in round of 16 matches is W5 D3 L1 – although they have not won an away game at this stage since 2005/06.

• Lyon's record in two-legged knockout ties against Spanish clubs is W3 L3, most recently a 4-1 defeat of Villarreal in the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League round of 32 (3-1 home, 1-0 away) – their last fixtures against Liga opposition.

• Les Gones won their first game in this season's UEFA Champions League, 2-1 at Manchester City, before drawing the next five, qualifying for the round of 16 with a 1-1 draw at Shakhtar Donetsk on matchday six.

• That makes it just one defeat in ten European matches for Bruno Génésio's side, who had scored two or more goals in six continental fixtures in a row before drawing at Shakhtar.

• All three of Lyon's home games in Group F finished 2-2, against Shakhtar, Hoffenheim and Manchester City.

• A 3-2 defeat by CSKA Moskva in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 16 is Lyon's only home reverse in 13 European contests (W7 D5), since a 1-0 UEFA Champions League group loss to Juventus in October 2016.

• Lyon were UEFA Champions League semi-finalists in 2010 and are in the competition for the 15th time – more than any other French club.

Barcelona
• Barcelona have been in the round of 16 every year from 2004/05 onwards, winning 12 of those 14 ties. The Blaugrana lost two of their first three ties, most recently against Liverpool in 2006/07, but have won their last 11. In 2017/18 they beat Chelsea 4-1 on aggregate (1-1 away, 3-0 home).

• Barcelona's last game with French opponents was a spectacular one as they produced the biggest comeback in UEFA Champions League history to win their 2016/17 last-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain. Barça looked to be heading out when they lost the first leg 4-0 in Paris, only for a stunning 6-1 second-leg success to turn the tie on its head.

• Barcelona are without a win in their last five away knockout games (D1 L4), since a 2-0 victory at Arsenal in the 2015/16 round of 16. That is their sole success in the last seven such contests, with five defeats in that sequence.

• Ernesto Valverde's side won two of their three away games in this season's group stage, at Tottenham (4-2) and PSV Eindhoven (2-1) either side of a 1-1 draw at Internazionale.

• That helped Barcelona finish first in their UEFA Champions League group for the 12th season in a row and the 20th overall – both competition records. They have reached at least the quarter-finals in all their last 11 UEFA Champions League campaigns, another competition record, losing in the last eight in the last three seasons; in 2017/18, they succumbed to a remarkable Roma fightback, going out despite a 4-1 home first-leg victory after losing 3-0 in Italy.

• Barça have won seven of their last 19 away matches in the competition, drawing six and losing the other six.

• The Blaugrana's record away to French sides is W4 D3 L4; they have won on two of their last seven visits to France (D3 L2).

• Barça's record in two-legged sides against Ligue 1 opponents is W4 L3; after losing the first three contests they have won the last four.

• Spanish champions for the 25th time – and third in four years – in 2017/18, Barcelona have been European champions on five occasions, most recently in 2015.

Links and trivia
• Samuel Umtiti joined Barcelona from Lyon in 2016. He came through the Lyon academy, making 131 league appearances and scoring three goals between 2012 and 2016.

• Have also played in France:
Clément Lenglet (Nancy 2010–17)
Ousmane Dembélé (Rennes 2014–16)
Malcom (Bordeaux 2016–18)

• Malcom scored four goals in four appearances against Lyon for Bordeaux, including two in a 3-3 draw at the Stade de Lyon in August 2017 and a penalty in Bordeaux's 3-1 home win in January 2018.

• Has played in Spain:
Pape Diop (Celta Vigo 2014–17)

• Have played together:
Kenny Tete & Jasper Cillessen (Ajax, 2013–16)

• International team-mates:
Ferland Mendy, Tanguy Ndombele, Nabil Fekir & Ousmane Dembélé, Samuel Umtiti (France)
Jason Denayer & Thomas Vermaelen (Belgium)
Memphis Depay, Kenny Tete & Jasper Cillessen (Netherlands)
Anthony Lopes & Nélson Semedo (Portugal)

• Fekir, Umtiti and Dembélé were part of France's victorious 2018 FIFA World Cup squad.

Latest news

Lyon
• UEFA Champions League squad changes
In: Malcolm Barcola, Lucas Tousart
Out: Zachary Brault, Jordan Ferri

• Lyon's record in all competitions since concluding their group campaign is W9 D3 L2. Their five-game winning run, and seven-match unbeaten sequence, was ended by a 1-0 Ligue 1 loss at Nice on 10 February; they were 2-1 winners at home to Guingamp on Friday night.

• Les Gones have won only four of their last ten home matches (D4 L2) although they have been victorious in the last two, including a 2-1 defeat of Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain on 3 February.

• Nabil Fekir, who got the winner against Guingamp, is Lyon's top scorer in Ligue 1 this season with eight goals, one more than Moussa Dembélé.

• Dembélé has scored five goals in his last eight games.

• Lyon have lost only three of their last 25 matches in all competitions (W13 D9), although that was preceded by a 5-0 defeat at Paris on 7 October, their heaviest loss since a 6-1 reverse at Nantes on 15 February 2000.

• Jason Denayer suffered a groin injury in Friday's defeat of Guingamp.

• Houssem Aouar finished eighth in the inaugural Kopa Trophy, for the world's best Under-21 players, won by Kylian Mbappé.

Barcelona
• UEFA Champions League squad changes
In: Jeison Murillo, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Moussa Wagué
Out: Rafinha, Munir, Denis Suárez

• Sergio Busquets made his 100th appearance in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final, on matchday six.

• Philippe Coutinho's next appearance in UEFA club competition will be his 50th.

• Barcelona's record since matchday six is W9 D3 L2. Both defeats came in the Copa del Rey, in the first legs away to Levante (last 16) and Sevilla (quarter-finals) – Barça won both ties on aggregate.

• The Blaugrana had drawn three in a row in all competitions before beating Valladolid 1-0 at the Camp Nou on Saturday, just their third win in their last seven outings.

• Barcelona were unbeaten in ten away games in all competitions (W7 D3) before losing 2-1 at Levante on 10 January; they have won only one of four since (D1 L2).

• The 0-0 draw at Athletic Club on 10 February was the first time Barcelona had failed to score in the Liga since a goalless draw against Getafe on 11 February 2018, 37 games previously.

• Lionel Messi is the top scorer in this season's Liga with 22 goals; the Argentinian has 13 in his last 12 appearances in all competitions, including the penalty winner at the weekend. He also missed another spot kick later in the game against Valladolid.

• Messi scored his 400th Liga goal in a 3-0 win against Eibar on 13 January.

• Jean-Clair Todibo signed for Barcelona from Toulouse in January but is not in the UEFA Champions League squad; the club also agreed deals for Frenkie de Jong (Ajax) and Emerson (Atlético Mineiro) to join in the summer.

• Arthur has not played since 6 February and has a hamstring injury; Jasper Cillessen (calf) has not featured since 30 January.

• Rafinha was ruled out for up to six months after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left leg in the second half of the 1-1 draw with Atlético Madrid on 24 November.

• Samuel Umtiti returned in that game at Atlético having not played since 26 September due to a knee problem, but suffered a relapse and has not featured since.

• Barça coach Ernesto Valverde signed a one-year contract extension on 15 February.

Video Assistant Referees (VAR) will be introduced into the UEFA Champions League from this round. The VAR will be used in order to support the referee when making decisions concerning four match-changing situations:
1.    Goals
2.    Incidents in the penalty area
3.    Red cards
4.    Mistaken identity

The VAR will inform the referee when there is evidence of a clear and obvious mistake in one of these match-changing situations. The referee can then use the review area next to the pitch to take a final decision. The VAR is also able to take into account any infringement that could have taken place in the immediate build-up to the incident (the attacking phase of play).

Decisions like offside or whether a foul was committed inside or outside the penalty area will be recommended to the referee directly by the VAR and no on-field review necessarily takes place in such cases. The on-field review process will be communicated within the stadium using either the stadium screens or the public announcement system.

• Full story on UEFA.com

• Interview with UEFA's Chief Refereeing Officer Roberto Rosetti

More information on the introduction of VAR, including videos and images can be found here.