French club Lyon hope to overcome Bayern Munich

FC Lyon players during a training session at the Gerland stadium in Lyon yesterday. pic/afp

After being outplayed at the Allianz Arena last Wednesday, the French side must prevail in front of their own fans at Stade Gerland if they are to reach the final for the first time in their history. Bayern are four-time European champions and finalists a further three times, but Lyon coach Claude Puel feels his team are better when they know they have to win. "Our game is much better when we have to go after a result than the other way round," he said.

Bayern winger Franck Ribery's sending off in the 37th minute of the first leg gave Lyon the opportunity to take a grip on the tie but they failed and were ultimately undone by an Arjen Robben goal in the 69th minute.

Striker Lisandro Lopez has upbraided his teammates for their lack of attacking intent. "We didn't play enough when we had the ball. We were waiting in our own half too much. We have to correct the tactics and show a more positive spirit to go for victory on Tuesday," he said.

Meanwhile, Bayern have been disturbed by injuries to first-choice centre-backs Martin Demichelis and Daniel Van Buyten (both calf) in their 1-1 draw at Moenchengladbach on Saturday. Bayern coach Louis van Gaal will wait until the day of the match before deciding whether Demichelis and Van Buyten are fit to play.

"I hope at least one of the centre-backs recovers fitness, then we'll have (Holger) Badstuber at centre-back and (Diego) Contento on the left. I'd be happy with that," ," said the Dutch coach.

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