Barcelona are under no illusions of the threat posed by Lyon ahead of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, says Sergio Busquets.
Lyon have proven they can mix it with Europe’s big guns, having beaten Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 and Manchester City in the Champions League group stages this season.
“I have a lot of respect for Lyon, they beat PSG recently,” Busquets said.
“They have very fast players in the midfield and in attack, they try to create space. We have to close those spaces.”
Barca and Lyon are two of the five teams to have reached this season’s knockout phase unbeaten.
Barca coach Ernesto Valverde believes away goals could be crucial in determining who will progress to the quarter-finals.
“It is true that scoring an away goal is important because if you don’t, it leaves everything up in the air for the second leg,” said Valverde.
“It is going to be a big challenge for us. But we’re hungry and ready for this game.”
Meanwhile, Barca centre-back Samuel Umtiti may return to face his old club having been sidelined since November with a knee problem, however, Thomas Vermaelen will be missing with a leg injury.
Charlie’s prediction
Luis Suarez will be back after starting on the bench at the weekend and Lionel Messi has started the year well. Barcelona are a better defensive side under Ernesto Valverde, so won’t be as open. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lyon got a goal, maybe through Nabil Fekir, but I think Messi will make an impact and Barcelona will win.
