Curtain up for the big show! On Wednesday evening (21.00 CEST, live updates on fcbayern.com), FC Bayern will fight for a place in the final of the Champions League. At Estádio José Alvalade XXI in Lisbon the men from Munich will meet Olympique Lyon in the semi-finals of the Champions League. "The spirit is very good here, in the team and also around it. We have to try to push through in our game against Lyon and be ready from the first minute, just like we were against Barcelona," said attacker Serge Gnabry at the press conference on Tuesday. In fcbayern.com's preview you can find out everything worth knowing ahead of the clash with the French.
FC Bayern's starting position
Full focus on the big goal in Bayern's final training session
It was a glorious football evening for all Bayern fans last Friday. With an incredible 8-2 win, the record champions defeated no less than Barcelona in the quarter-finals of Europe's elite club competition. It was the highlight of an incredible run of matches for the Munich team. FCB have now won 19 matches in a row, and coach Hansi Flick's side are unbeaten in 28 games, the team's last defeat coming more than eight months ago. Accordingly, the men from Bavaria are entering the penultimate round of the competition against Lyon with a healthy dose of self-confidence.
You can find the best photos from the day before the semi against Lyon below 👇
Olympique Lyon - the opponents
The domestic season in the French Ligue 1 was mixed for Olympique Lyon. Coach Rudi Garcia's team ended the season in seventh place as a consequence of an algorithm used to determine positions in the table after the league was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the Coupe de France (5-1 loss in the semi-finals) and in the Coupe de la Ligue (6-5 loss on penalties in the final) OL fell twice to Paris Saint-Germain. All the more reason to be impressed by Lyon's performance in the Champions League. Second in the group behind RB Leipzig, the French qualified for the knockout phase and have thus far been able to spring some "cupsets". First, Lyon eliminated Juventus before defeating Manchester City last Saturday 3-1: "They are defensively good and keep it tight in defence, but also have a lot of quality in attack. We want to reach the final and we need to beat Lyon to do so - knowing that it won't be easy," Bayern coach Flick said at his press conference.
We took a closer look at our opponents. Click here for our report on Lyon:
Personnel update
"All 27 players are fit for the game," said Flick before the final training session. In the case of defender Benjamin Pavard, who travelled to the Champions League finals tournament last Thursday, the Bayern coach wanted to wait for Tuesday's training session: "We are happy that he is here. He's not an option for the starting eleven, but perhaps for the matchday squad," said the Bayern coach.
What the two head coaches had to say: Hansi Flick and Rudi Garcia speak to the media
Hansi Flick: "I'm very enthusiastic about my team. We have a very good atmosphere and enormous quality in training. That gives you confidence in the team. I am relaxed because I know that the team is very focused and has great ambitions. The game starts at 0-0. We need to be as focused as we were against Barcelona. Less than 100 percent will not be enough. We have our solutions and we hope that we can implement them.
Rudi Garcia, Olympique Lyon head coach: "We know who we're playing. They have no weaknesses, but no team is perfect. If we manage to get our game through and do what we can in possession with passing moves, we can achieve something. It's not just about defending. We have to believe in ourselves, we know that we can cause problems for our opponents. We're the underdogs, but we also have the opportunity to reach the final. And we want to do that."
We spoke to captain Manuel Neuer before the match against Lyon. Click here for the interview:
The referee: Matéu Lahoz
Matéu Lahoz will officiate the semi-final between Bayern and Lyon. The 43-year-old has already overseen three of the German record champions' Champions League games in the past - including a match in Lisbon in FCB's 2-0 win over Benfica in the 2018/19 group stage in mid-September 2018. His other two matches including Bayern were also group games, the 1-0 win over Viktoria Pilsen in 2013 and a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
Everything you need to know about Bayern in the 2020 Champions League finals:
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