Key events
Tom Garry
Thousands of white, red and blue flags were left on the seats for the Ol Lyonnes supporters and they are waving their aloft now as their team jog off the pitch at the end of their warmup. The atmosphere is building nicely. There are also around 600 Arsenal fans high the stand opposite us, making themselves heard.
Gordon in Aberdeen writes in:
To my mind, Arsenal’s success in Europe has been largely based on analysis of the opposition, and stopping them playing by marking, defensive positional play, and blocking passing lanes. Lyonnes need to spring a tactical surprise on Arsenal today in order to win this tie. Starting Dumornay is a step towards that – but persisting with Hegerberg, so ineffectual in the first leg v Arsenal and both QF games v Wolfsburg, is inexplicable. Katoto is the current starting striker for France, and would be a much greater threat to the Arsenal defence.
A reminder of how that first leg went:
As Alessia Russo prepares for another Champions League semi-final, there’s a trophy named after her that’s up for grabs.
Here’s Tom Garry’s preview.
Michele Kang rebranded the club from Lyon to OL Lyonnes last year and spent significantly last summer, adding star names such as the France striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Lily Yohannes, as well as hiring Giráldez, a Champions League-winning head coach. They are unbeaten in the French top division so their toughest challenge comes in Europe and, to a degree, it feels as if their season has been gearing up for Saturday’s showdown.
Arsenal are unchanged from the first leg. If it ain’t broke … Lyon make two tweaks, with Melchie Dumornay and Selma Bacha starting.
The teams
OL Lyonnes: Endler, Lawrence, Renard, Engen, Bacha, Heaps, Dumornay, Yohannes, Diani, Hegerberg, Brand
Subs: Belhadj, Marchal, Becho, Shrader, Katoto, Egurrola, Sombath, Svava, Tarciane, Rafalski, Ouazar, Olivier
Arsenal: Van Domselaar, Fox, Williamson, Wubben-Moy, McCabe, Russo, Little, Mariona, Foord, Blackstenius, Smith
Subs: Votikova, Borbe, Laia Codina, Maanum, Kelly, Pelova, Hinds, Holmberg, Dixon
Preamble
Wait a second … I’ve seen this one before. It finished 2-1 at the Emirates in the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final with Lyon last year, too. That time round it was the French side who had the one-goal cushion heading into the second leg, but Renée Slegers’ team triumphed 4-1 at the Groupama Stadium before making history in Lisbon.
What now for the defending champions? They have the advantage this time after Olivia Smith’s winner last weekend, and a 7-0 midweek victory against Leicester added to the joy. But Lyonnes carry continental prestige, eight Champions League trophies in the cabinet, with Melchie Dumornay expected to return after missing out in the first leg. She’s already delivered against Arsenal this season. We get going at 2pm BST.