Lyon Feminin v Arsenal Preview

THE LOWDOWN
Arsenal travel to Lyon on Sunday to play the second leg of their UWCL semi-final against the record eight-time winners of the competition, aiming to overturn a 2-1 deficit. The Gunners started the first leg at home slowly and it took them some time to come up to Lyon’s level of intensity.

However, once they did they were able to pin Lyon back for long periods of the second half and created several presentable opportunities, ultimately they were not clinical enough with them. Once they forced an equaliser through Mariona’s penalty, Lyon immediately put the afterburners back on and powered back into the lead.

Arsenal created three or four good headed chances and with Wendie Renard likely to come back into the team after injury kept her out of the first leg, it is doubtful that the home side will be so generous from crosses. There are questions for Slegers over her midfield too as the Gunners have a vulnerability to powerful runs through the centre of the team against the bigger opponents.

On the other hand, Frida Maanum had two golden headed chances by crashing the penalty area in the first leg. Slegers and her team need to find the balance between chasing down the scoreboard and not leaving too much space for the home side who, among their many qualities, have the best transitional attack in Europe. It’s going to be a huge task.

TEAM NEWS

Despite the initial prognosis of 5-6 weeks on the sidelines with an ankle tendon injury, goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar is in contention to play. Chloe Kelly (foot) and Alessia Russo (knee) came through the first leg unscathed and are fit to play, Lotte Wubben-Moy returns from a muscle injury. Laia Codina has travelled with the squad but Lina Hurtig are out.

Available squad
Goalkeepers: 1.Zinsberger 14.van Domselaar 40.Williams
Defenders: 2.Fox 3.Wubben-Moy 5.L.Codina 6.Williamson 7.Catley 11.McCabe 22.Nighswonger 28.Ilestedt 62.Reid
Midfielders: 8.Mariona 10.Little 12.L.Maanum 13.Walti 21.Pelova 32.Cooney-Cross
Forwards: 9.Mead 16.Kafaji 18.Kelly 19.Foord 23.Russo 25.Blackstenius

A WORD FROM THE BOSS
‘We have had a seven-day turnaround which we barely ever have, that has been good for us. The first two days are about reviewing and recovering and that is what we have done and then in the middle of the week, we have trained hard. We have tried to work on all the details with the team that we want to bring on Sunday. It has been a good situation of us being able to spend a lot of time together and work towards this second leg, the environment has been very positive and constructive.

LAST TIME OUT
Lyon won the first leg 2-1 at Arsenal Stadium, Diani gave Lyon a first half lead before Mariona’s equaliser from the spot. Dumornay’s late goal gave Lyon a 2-1 first leg lead. Arsenal last travelled to Lyon in October 2022 and won 5-1 thanks to braces from Beth Mead and Caitlin Foord and a goal from Frida Maanum. Melvine Malard scored for Lyon.

STUNNING WIN | Olympique Lyonnais vs. Arsenal (UEFA Women’s Champions League 2022-23)

THE OPPOSITION

Lyon are likely to have their long-serving captain Wendie Renard back in the centre of defence for this game. Renard, like striker Eugenie Le Sommer, has been part of all eight of Lyon’s UWCL victories. She also carries significant threat at setpieces. The only other decision for Joe Montemurro might be whether he wants to start with Ada Hegerberg upfront and drop Dumornay into the number 10 role.

The Lyon front three of Diani, Dumornay and Chawinga has serious skill and power. Lyon had an away game against Nantes on Wednesday night which they won 2-0 but Montemurro rested all 11 of the starters from the first leg, as well as Ada Hegerberg who came off the bench.

The former Gunners boss told Arseblog News after the first leg that he asked Diani to stay a little higher on the right wing since Katie McCabe is asked to do a lot of work to support the attack and the midfield. He also told us, ‘sometimes you have to let Arsenal have the ball for a bit and see where you can hurt them in the second phase.’ How Arsenal negotiate these challenges against such an experienced and talented side will be critical.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Arsenal’s defeats to Lyon and Chelsea this year have shared some similarities. In both games, the first 15 minutes or so was a shock to the system and they had to fight tooth and nail to keep a foothold in the game before gradually coming up to the level. They also conceded the decisive goals in similar ways.

Melchie Dumornay and Lauren James were able to power their way through Arsenal’s spine late in the game and arrive in the penalty area. Arsenal lack a little power in that area and how they look through the spine of their team is going to be critical in this game. Slegers rarely teams Lia Walti and Kim Little together any longer, preferring to play one alongside Mariona.

It is probably true that a Little Walti pivot won’t have the same athleticism it used to, however, in this transition period it does still feel as though they need the solidity the pair provide. However, they also need Mariona’s creativity in build up and she was a big part of the reason Arsenal were able to dominate the first half of the second half last weekend. How Arsenal search for balance between security and creativity in this area will be fascinating.

PREDICTED LINE-UPS

Subs: 1.Zinsberger 3.Wubben-Moy 9.Mead 13.Walti 16.Kafaji 21.Pelova 22.Nighswonger 25.Blackstenius 28.Ilestedt 32.Cooney-Cross 40.Williams 62.Reid

HOW TO CATCH THE GAME
The game takes place at Lyon’s Groupama Stadium on Sunday with a 5pm kickoff UK time. It will be shown live on DAZN’s website and on TNT Sports 3. Here is a full listing of where you can watch across the world.

COMING UP
We will have our usual on the whistle match report from Aidan Gibson, as well as every word from Renee Slegers’ post-match press conference around an hour after the final whistle. Jamie and I will bring you a podcast on Tuesday most likely (since I don’t return from Lyon until Monday afternoon).

Don’t forget to subscribe to our weekly Arsenal Women Newsletter, which typically goes out on a Monday. It is free to sign up and if you do, the newsletter will be sent straight to your email address.

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