Lyon vs Wolfsburg – News and Probable Lineups

Lyon Women will look to reverse a slight deficit when they host Wolfsburg Women at Groupama Stadium for Thursday’s Women’s Champions League fixture.

The German side displayed impressive defensive strength to secure a 1-0 victory in last week’s quarter-final first leg, providing them a favorable position for their upcoming visit to France.

Match overview

Lyon performed strongly during the initial phase of the Women’s Champions League, achieving five wins and one draw from six matches to finish second and advance directly to the quarter-finals.

Being the record European champions, the French powerhouse entered their matchup against Wolfsburg as the favorites to progress to the semi-finals, but they find themselves with work to do after succumbing to a 1-0 loss in Germany last week.

This disappointing outcome marked Lyon’s first competitive defeat since their 4-1 loss to Arsenal at home during the UWCL semi-finals in April of the previous year.

Jonatan Giraldez’s team then faced yet another frustrating match in Saturday’s Premier Ligue away game against Strasbourg, managing to equalize twice for a 2-2 draw.

Despite two less-than-stellar performances on the road, Lyon will still have confidence in their ability to win against Wolfsburg, particularly as they have triumphed in all 15 of their competitive home fixtures this season.

Moreover, they can draw confidence from the statistic that they have never lost consecutive matches in the UWCL.

On the other hand, Wolfsburg has already navigated through one knockout stage after concluding the UWCL league phase in ninth place.

Die Wolfinnen managed to defeat Italian titans Juventus in the knockout playoffs, ending in a 2-2 draw at home before securing a 2-0 victory in Turin.

The two-time European champions are now aiming for their first semi-final appearance since they reached the final in the 2022-23 season after taking a 1-0 lead, thanks to Lineth Beernsteyn’s deflected shot.

With their sights set on Thursday’s second leg, Wolfsburg could not achieve a sixth straight win in Sunday’s exhilarating 3-3 draw against Union Berlin, where they scored two late goals to equalize after midfielder Janina Minge ended up in goal following Stina Johannes’s red card in the 87th minute.

Wolfsburg will aim to avoid similar chaos in the second leg, taking comfort from the fact they have advanced from all 27 UEFA two-legged ties where they held a first-leg advantage.

Team News

Lyon continues to be without forward Liana Joseph, who has been out since October due to an ACL injury.

Midfielder Korbin Shrader and winger Jule Brand are potential starters after contributing from the bench during the last half-hour of the first leg.

Melchie Dumornay, who has found the net four times in the UWCL this season, aims to keep up her good form, having netted three goals in her last five competitive matches.

For the visitors, Lerch still lacks Lena Lattwein, Kessya Bussy, and Alex Popp due to injuries.

Midfielder Justine Kielland is hopeful to recover from a knee issue in time for the second leg in France.

Beerensteyn is set to continue leading the attack for Wolfsburg, having scored five times in her UWCL appearances this season.

Lyon Women probable starting XI:

Ends; Lawrence, Renard, Engen, Bacha; Dumornay, Egurrola, Shrader; Brand, Chawinga, Hegerberg

Wolfsburg Women probable starting XI:

John; Bjelde, Dijkstra, Kuver, Minge, Linder; Huth, Kielland, Peddemors, Endemann; Beerenstein

Lyon’s performances at both ends of the pitch throughout their 15 home victories this season have been noteworthy, and we believe they will leverage their home advantage to turn the tie around with a relatively straightforward win.