Real Madrid vs Lyon tonight at the Bernabeu. This will be the second leg of their round of sixteen clash, wherein the score is tied at 1-1, but an away goal advantage for the Galacticos. The Spanish side is stronger in paper. But will they beat Lyon this time around? Or will it be another of their historic frustration?

Head to Head

Feb 22, 2011 1-1 Real advantage on away goal
March 10, 2011 1-1 Lyon advances on 2-0 aggregate
Feb 16, 2010 1-0 Lyon wins
Nov 2, 2006 2-2 Lyon advances on 4-2 aggregate
Sept 14, 2006 2-0 Lyon wins

As seen in their last 4 encounters prior to the first leg, Lyon is a thorn in the butt for Madrid in their quest for glory.

Preview

Jose Mourinho had not lost a home game since 2002 with his time at Porto. Now that he brought his brilliance at Madrid, and a promise of bringing them silverwares, he would surely like to keep his slate clean. For the 2011 Champions League season, Madrid had not conceded a goal. That would be a very tall order for the French club, whose top player last season, Karim Benzema, is now on the Spanish side.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Real’s prized player, is back too. The 2008 World Player of the year would not want this game to slip away from him. He carries on his back the burden of bringing Real back to the top of the Spanish and European football. Defeating Lyon would be sweet. The trophy at Wembley would be sweeter. Karim Benzema will also attempt to prove his place now that Gonzalo Higuain, the no.1 striker, is sidelined due to injury. Scoring against his former team in the most crucial of games, will surely erase doubts and justify his expensive purchase.

Lyon does not have an excellent road game this season. They even sit third on the Ligue 1 table. Michael Bastos, their Brazilian winger, will be out due to a yellow card in their previous game. On paper, Lyon has nothing to stop a rampaging Madrid.

Results Prediction

Ronaldo and Benzema will wreck havoc on the visitor’s goal. I will not be surprised if Emmanuel Adebayor will be able to chip in. But definitely, Mourinho will not play with the impression that he will park the bus in front of his goal. Maybe he’ll play with 10 attackers. My prediction is a 3-0 victory for Real Madrid.

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