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A dominant Bayern face a Lyon capable of felling giants

Lisbon/Berlin, Aug 18 (efe-epa).- An intractable Bayern Munich side is set to take on Olympique Lyonnais in the semi-finals of the Uefa Champions League fresh after brushing Barcelona aside in a humiliating 2-8 romp.

Faced with the daunting prospect of taking on the German giants, Lyon, who finished just 7th in Ligue 1, will bank on the fact during their European campaign so far they managed to beat the odds by sending strong contenders like Manchester City and Juventus packing.

Bayern go into the tie as clear favorites to win the competition but should not underestimate their French rivals and their ability to surprise on the counter-attack, a strategy that dismantled Man City.

Captain and keeper Manuel Neuer described Lyon as an intelligent team who were able to punish City in the quarters.

He added that its paramount to stay focused and ensure that Bayern always has more numbers in their own half when on the defensive.

The German league winners arrive at the game in Lisbon in top form, both in terms of physicality and tactics.

Manager Hansi Flick will be little tempted to change the line-up he fielded against the Catalan side in the quarter-finals, although he may choose to switch up some players.

A player like Kingsley Coman, a gifted dribbler of the ball, could play in place of Ivan Perisic as a way to counter Lyon’s notoriously tight defense.

However, given the way Perisic played against Barcelona, Flick might find it difficult to justify starting him on the bench.

Another unlikely yet possible change would be the return of Benjamin Pavard, who started training again after recovering from injury, to right-back, which would free up Joshua Kimmich to move into the center of midfield, a decision that would sacrifice either Leon Goretzka or Thiago Alcántara.

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