Claude Puel and Jose Mourinho have provided us with no surprises in their lineups for the UEFA Champions League match between Olympique Lyon and Real Madrid, playing their regular formations and the starting XIs that everyone expected to see. The teams should come very close to matching each other in formation, though their styles of play and how the players on the pitch change the formations in practice will likely be a much different story.
Olympique Lyon Vs. Real Madrid: Lineups
Olympique Lyon lineup (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Reveillere, Cris, Lovren, Cissokho; Toulalan, Kallstrom; Delgado, Gourcuff, Bastos; Gomis
Real Madrid lineup (4-2-3-1): Casillas; Ramos, Pepe, Carvalho, Arbeloa; Khedira, Alonso; Ronaldo, Özil, Di Maria; Adebayor
With Gonzalo Higuain injured and out for the rest of the season, Mourinho has decided to go with Emmanuel Adebayor ahead of former Lyon player Karim Benzema, which isn’t much of a surprise. Cristiano Ronaldo might have his work cut out for him today as Lyon’s left winger, Michel Bastos, is proficient in aiding the defense with their work. Since counter-attacking through the middle is not necessarily the strong suit of Lyon, we could see a fair bit of Sami Khedira making his trademark forward runs from his normal deep central midfield position. All in all, both lineups are loaded with talent and an entertaining tactical battle has the potential to unfold. Kickoff is at 2:45 pm ET and the game can be seen in the United States on local Fox Sports Net affiliates or on FoxSoccer.tv. Or, just stay with SBNation for live coverage throughout the match.
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