Chelsea head into the second leg of their women’s Champions League semi-final against Lyon on Sunday still in with a chance of ending the French club’s dominance in the competition after a narrow 2-1 defeat in the first leg last week.
AFP Sport runs the rule over the situation in both semi-finals, with Barcelona the favourites to get past Bayern Munich in the other tie and secure their place in the final in Budapest on May 18.
Chelsea vs Lyon
Sunday (1300 GMT)
Holders Lyon are looking to win the trophy for the fourth season in a row and the French powerhouses have the edge in the tie after a 2-1 victory in the first leg last week.
French international duo Delphine Cascarino and Amandine Henry scored for them but a fine strike by Scotland’s Erin Cuthbert kept Chelsea in the tie after Fran Kirby had earlier missed a penalty.
Emma Hayes’s side are now hoping to overturn the deficit as they welcome Lyon to Kingston upon Thames, where they beat Paris Saint-Germain in the last round.
“We know Lyon will come at us with everything they’ve got. They’ve got star quality, they’ve got lots of money and they’ve got lots of titles,” Hayes told the BBC.
“They will throw absolutely everything at this team so we have to show we can cope, we’re resilient, and we can fight back.”
Lyon warmed up for the trip to England by securing their 13th consecutive French crown on Wednesday by beating Dijon 4-0, despite making six changes to their starting line-up.
“It was good for us psychologically to go and win the title at Dijon before playing Chelsea, and that the game didn’t handicap us,” said Lyon coach Reynald Pedros.
“We are confident but we have a lot to do if we are to qualify. We can’t allow ourselves to relax when we are just one game away from a European final.”
England right-back Lucy Bronze and Wales star Jess Fishlock could again both play for Lyon, but one major source of concern for them is that Henry is a doubt with a footknock. Pedros said he was “very optimistic”, however.
Barcelona vs Bayern
Sunday (1000 GMT)
Barcelona appear poised to reach their first final as they take a 1-0 lead into the second leg of their tie against Bayern after Kheira Hamraoui’s solitary strike in Germany last time out.
French midfielder Hamraoui is a former Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon player so could be in line for a showdown against one of her former sides in the final in Hungary next month.
But first Barca will aim to finish the job as they welcome Bayern to the Miniestadi, across the road from the Camp Nou, with the Catalans saying there will be a sell-out crowd of over 13,000 for the game.
“Playing with the stadium full will be really lovely and is really important, it’s great news for women’s football,” said Barcelona coach Lluis Cortes, whose team prepared for this game by thumping Sevilla 6-2 in midweek to keep alive their domestic title hopes.
