Champions League Knockout Preview and Predictions (Combined XIs and more): Pt. I From An Afraid American

                      

   

The Round of 16 in the Champions league is finally set and we have our matchups.

       We're getting bang for our buck with these contests, featuring exciting potential  and youth facing off against steely experience and veteran leadership, old foes and friends facing off, an insanely titanic tie that will cause one sure-fire contender to not advance and what we've got is a very balanced and evenly matched Round of 16.

        It should not only be exhilarating viewing, it will be awesome to analyze these sets of clubs as they duke it out for the highest honor in club futbol.

       We start it out with:

BARCA V LYON
          This one makes the mouth water.
          We'll be seeing Lionel Messi and co. go about their duty to reclaim the Champions League from their erstwhile enemies, Real Madrid who've won it the last 3 seasons and 4 out of the last 5.
        Who won it the sole other time in the last 5 years?
        Yes, it was Barcelona in 2015.
          Can they do it again?

          That's a dumb question when you see Lionel Messi on the pitch in a Barca uniform, but that goes without saying, Messi is always going to deliver and be at his best.
        Will Luis Suarez be fit and firing by February? We think so, it's just all about keeping him fit and fresh, as we've seen in the past the only thing that can screw Suarez up is when he's allowed to play himself into the ground, his shots becoming listless, his touch becoming a Butterfinger bar in the wet pocket of Bernie Madoff....
          Will Ousmane Dembele continue his otherworldly odyssey through the headlines of the Spanish media and into the back of the net against all-comers?
        Will his partnership with Lionel Messi become something special, or will it lack in flavor by the time February rolls around and we may see Ousmane's position in the XI up for grabs from Coutinho?
       Coutinho has become the forgotten man at Barcelona recently, but with his two shots off of the post performance vs Tottenham, Philippe has shown he best not be forsaken, as he is still one of the best attacking players in world futbol. He has definitely felt the pain of being out of favor, just as Dembele felt last season after January when Coutinho had come into the squad, so we should see a hungry and intense Coutinho in the months ahead.
          It's all about Barca manager Ernesto Valverde keeping the squad fresh, with rotation being not only a supplemental virtue, but as a necessity with this club.
          In midfield they possess enough quality and possession skills to drown every side in European futbol in pass mastery, yet if Arthur is missing in action and still injured by this point, Barcelona lose much of their intensity in midfield. No more can they depend on the speed and skill of Ivan Rakitic as he begins to slow down and become a more measured presence in the engine room of Barcelona, allowing Arthur or Coutinho to drive forward through the lines, with Rakitic leading the press and distributing and making a few runs a match.
         We don't know if it'll be a midfield of Busquets, Arthur and Rakitic or the more preferred Busquets, Arthur and Coutinho, with Sergi Roberto figuring into the equation with his outstanding dribbling ability from deep and ball-oriented play.
          Though against Tanguay Ndombele and Houssem Aouar in midfield for Lyon, Barcelona need to be at their patient and penetrative best to usurp these highly rated young talents.
         Lyon do not lack for energy in midfield, with a vicious press and a bevy of smart running from deep into the box, Barcelona's protection of their back four could very well be tested time and time again throughout the two-legged affair. Sergi Roberto may be a smart selection for the first leg to test the energy levels of our midfield against theirs and see if anything holds the Lyon press back, or if they're even willing to press the Catalan club in possession.

Houssem Aouar, the French born Algerian midfielder for Lyon, is already a marked man for managers like Pep Guardiola, his talents shining brighter by the match.

         Up top for Lyon they've got Nabil Fekir, one of the best young players in world futbol and someone who shown in such little time in the World Cup this year for France. If Fekir isn't hurt or just back from an injury (and even that rarely stops him) he will produce moments of magic for Lyon, but it may be up to the feet of his teammates to finish these chances off, as Barcelona will definitely look to surround and attack Fekir, a common tactic against the Frenchman nowadays. We've seen many opponents going straight after Nabil's feet, going for his recent injuries, testing his ankles and his durability. It's quite harsh and rough treatment for a player just back from an injury and having suffered a year long knee injury from 2015-2016 that cost him a place at Euro 2016....but such is Fekir's uncompromising ability (Fekir played 6 minutes vs Uruguay in the 2018 World Cup quarterfinal, yet was hacked down 4 times).
      He simply changes matches with his presence, a trait Liverpool decided wasn't enough for them to spend 50 million on (a true pittance in today's transfer market) and with Sadio Mane's inability to finish even a chicken dinner, Liverpool could've used him.           
        Lyon also have UCL assists leader Memphis Depay who continues to progress  and adjust his name up the transfer lists of many a top tier futbol club with his all-action / nonstop creative functionality.                 Depay has taken on the mantle, driving at defenses with slaloming, vibrant runs and quirky, adventurous chances created. Barcelona better be ready to defend set pieces against Memphis Depay's wicked and deadly accurate deliveries and the imposing height of Traore, Ferland Mendy and Ndombele in the box, waiting.
        Elsewhere, on the right wing, Lyon have another top prospect in former Chelsea youth player Bertrand Traore. The player lacks consistency, yet is capable of stunning, world class moments at the drop of a hat.
        His force, his physicality and size will force an impressive duel against the smaller of stature Barcelona left back Jordi Alba, who can make up for the lack of size in his speed and low center of gravity, but look for this to be a key battle in the tie, with Traore trying to pin Alba deep in his own half and Nelson Semedo at right back competing against the two-headed hydra of brilliant fullback Ferland Mendy (who possesses an incredible all-around athletic ability that could trouble Barcelona beyond recognition) and Memphis Depay, both operating on the left and combining to devastating effect.
      I believe these matches will see an inordinate amount of chances, with many falling by the wayside or without being cashed in thanks to fantastic defending from both sides. We'll see goals, interesting tactical ambition from Lyon and of course, Lionel Messi going absolutely ballistic.
      Of course it all comes down to Valverde. The Barcelona manager is capable of shocking decisions, masochistic on-pitch demands and even worse lineups, forcing Messi to go it alone and carry Barcelona to the finish line.

        If that type of boring, unimaginative and codependent management is presided over by Valverde, Messi and co. could be in for a long tie. But surely Valverde couldn't keep a firing Dembele off the pitch, could he? He surely wouldn't use a 4-4-2 vs a high octane young team like Lyon...right?
       Either way you put Barcelona out there, when Messi is included Lyon won't be favored to win this tie. Yet, I get a feeling they have nothing to lose and will go out there with that mindset, ready to show the world individually what they've got, while the overall collective performance may be all over the place at times this season, the individual wizardry of these young Lyon talents has at times pulled them through  (specifically  Fekir, Aouar, Ndombele, Depay and Mendy spark my eyes as players near the same level as Ajax's trio of Ziyech, De Jong and De Ligt).
       They even have Maxwell Cornet, poor Mr. Cornet, the Ivorian who despite averaging a goal per match and scoring both winners in both group stage legs against Manchester City, can barely get a game.
       Lyon have the youth, the vibrancy and very little steel to them, while Barca have experience in droves, some outrageous young masters and commanders in Dembele and Coutinho. One manager likes to give his team thrust and positivity and the other seems to sabotage is club at all costs.
     What we have here is a tie that will be unmistakably even, eventful and extreme on both ends of the pitch in two legs that will surely push both squads to the brink.
     

PREDICTION:
1ST LEG (IN LYON):                2-1     (Barcelona)
2ND LEG (IN BARCELONA): 2-2     (Draw)
(Barcelona advance 4-3 on aggregate)