PBP: FC Barcelona v Olympique Loynnais | UEFA Champions League R16 - 2nd Leg | 13 March 2019 [R]

Imagine the shitstorm everywhere if Barca crash out. In this years CL anything can happen. No messing about go for the kill and get it over with quickly.

I just hope Craperto won't start.

 

3 yellow cards = 1 UEFA match suspension

Semedo enters this match carrying two yellow cards.

 

Dembele is a doubt for this game after hurting his hamstring vs Rayo.

 

We gotta show some serious killer instinct. If for one second the players simply expect to win, this will be ugly. This Lyon match really scares me not gonna lie.

 

He's definitely starting. We need goals.

 

Yeah, as I said when predicting the Rayo lineup, I thought that whichever of Semedo or Roberto started vs. Rayo, the other one would start vs. Lyon. I predicted Semedo would start that one, and Roberto against Lyon, Semedo did start vs. Rayo and I'll stick with that logic, which means Roberto would start in the "gala once".

However, with Dembele now a doubt we have several different scenarios if Dembele cannot go:

In a 4-3-3, there are just two options, direct replacement for Dembele is Malcom, but he's rarely played; more likely is Coutinho.

Or, in a 4-4-2, we can replace Dembele with a 4th mid (rather than a forward) either Vidal, who is enjoying a great run of form, or with Roberto (which allows Semedo to start at RB).

Or any of those 4 can get the 11th start in Dembele's absence if we play a hybrid of the 2, the 4-2-3-1.

To be clear the "gala once" at the moment is ter Stegen, one of Roberto or Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Raki, Busi, Arthur; Messi, Suarez, Dembele. Se we are talking about Dembele being replaced by either Coutinho, Malcom, Vidal, or both of Roberto and Semedo (Semedo gets a start he otherwise maybe would not at RB, and Roberto plays further up).

 

Me thinks 4-4-2 would work well without Dembele. Or maybe 4-1-3-2...

MATS
Semedo Pique Lenglet Alba
Busquets
Rakitic Arthur Coutinho
Messi Suarez

 

I would sign off on that lineup for sure, but I fear that Roberto starts this game, so unless he plays midfield (unlikely unless we play a 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, or 4-1-3-2, and even then I'd prefer Vidal as extra mid, or Coutinho, Malcom, or Dembele as winger/mid hybrid) I don't think Semedo gets the start.

But if Dembele cannot go I do think Coutinho is most likely to get a start and I hope either he or Suarez can break out of their respective slumps and score (Coutinho in an overall scoring drought, since October, whereas Suarez is "just" in a CL scoring drought, though he has scored a couple goals at home already, but never scores on the road).

My prediction without Dembele:

MATS
Roberto Pique Lenglet Alba
Rakitic Busquets
Arthur Messi Coutinho
Suarez
​

If Dembele can play he starts instead of Coutinho and Arthur moves to left, Dembele to right.

 

That's not a bad lineup too. If Roberto plays defense like he did in the Liga Clasico I'm not worried about his selection one bit.

 

Barcablaugranes says there are 3 choices to replace Dembele, no mention of Vidal:

Valverde has three options.

Philippe Coutinho
The club’s record signing was a sure starter in the opening months of the season but since, his level has dropped while Dembélé’s has risen. Coutinho has been struggling for form as of late, but Valverde has opted to continue giving him minutes with the hopes that he’ll be out of his funk soon. Coutinho lacks the pure pace of Dembélé but he is known for his trickery, final pass, and long-distance shooting.

Malcom
Malcom was Barcelona’s most expensive signing last summer, and he is the one with the most experience playing against this Lyon side. The Brazilian was signed from Bordeaux, a team which never lost against Lyon when Malcom played. He has struggled for minutes this season, but Valverde has used him at opportune moments. He’s done the most to maximize his chances from his spare appearances, notably scoring a late goal against Inter Milan and a key equalizer in the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid. Will Valverde show his confidence in the youngster?

Sergi Roberto and Nélson Semedo
Another option for Valverde is to change the team a bit and move Sergi Roberto from right-back and put Nélson Semedo in his stead. Roberto started the first leg against Lyon in midfield with Semedo at right-back. Roberto can operate as a winger to retain the 4-3-3 shape, or he can slot into a midfield spot in a 4-4-2 system. Roberto and Semedo have gained Valverde’s trust, but is this plan too conservative given the first leg resu

 

we will win 3-0

 

I think we will need an actual winger to open things up cause the 4-1-3-2 or whatever it looked like was just too tight.

Sad for Coutinho, but we haven't seen a lot of his trickery, final pass, or even his infamous long-distance shooting as of late. I'm not sure what more he'd bring as a starter. Hopefully if no one can show it, then he can...after 60-70 minutes, after which we can hope there will be some space for him to try his patented long-distance shooting.

Malcom has shown to be kind of Dembele-lite; even though he's not the two-footed monster D is, the on-field creativity tends to flow from whereever he is as he showed in the Copa. He's also the one whose shown to score late crucial goals in his limited time.

Malcom po' favo'.

 

There was positive news for Barcelona on Tuesday evening as Ousmane Dembele was able to participate in the team's final training session ahead of their Champions League last 16 second leg against Lyon, with the Frenchman making the 20-man squad list for the match.

He was a doubt after suffering an injury during Saturday's win over Rayo Vallecano, but the fact he was able to train meant he made the list.

He in NOT YET medically cleared and may not be, so he could still be left out of the final 18-man squad, though.

The complete squad is as follows: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Jasper Cillessen, Nelson Semedo, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Jeison Murillo, Jordi Alba, Sergi Roberto, Samuel Umtiti, Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Philippe Coutinho, Arthur, Arturo Vidal, Carles Alena, Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Ousmande Dembele, Malcom and Kevin-Prince Boateng.

 

Dembele or no Dembele, please please please don't choke tomorrow!

 

Since the situation is so desperate up front, why not consider playing Roberto as a forward? He does make good , cutting runs and tends to produce in CL/big matches. That way we can still have Semedo in defense to minimize the possibility of conceding an away goal.

 

This should be the ideal formation given the injuries but i'm 100% sure that Craperto and Craptinho will start and we will struggle to score , i just hope that Messi will have a good day because if he doesn't we are screwed

 

as long as its home game, we wont choke

 

its camp nou man, we wont choke here. and its ucl, away games are our problem, not home games

 

Messi better show up! We can call Roma last year a fluke but if that shit happens again then he and every other player should be held accountable. Yes Valverde can be blamed to some extent but it's still up to the players to perform.

Anyways I do believe! Let's bury these guys... then Juve next.

 

😱 Ter Stegen's stunning first-leg save...

🔵🔴 @mterstegen1 👏👏👏#UCL @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/EYyXOupayw

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 13, 2019

 

Very nervous about tonight , think we will need to score a minimum of 2 goals as I doubt we will keep a clean sheet.