UCL: Lyon Sharpen Axes Ahead of Barcelona Clash

Ligue 1 side Lyon are getting ready to play host to Barcelona in the Champions League, with Houssem Aouar claiming that Ferland Mendy is up to the task of stopping Messi.

Lyon face an uphill task in keeping Lionel Messi and other star-men quiet if they are to qualify from the round-of-16 on Tuesday.

Aouar is however confident that highly-rated full-back Mendy is capable of holding his own against the La Liga giants.

“I think that Mendy is ready to come up against Lionel Messi,” said Aouar

“We have prepared well and we are feeling confident.”

Lyon will be without keyman Nabil Fekir on the night which might limit their chances against Barcelona.

20-year old Aouar believes Lyon can shine on the biggest of stages, even if it is against an European giant

“They have incredible players all over the pitch, you cannot just deal with one or two because they are all capable of hurting you,” added the youngster

“Without [Fekir] we often tend to be on the losing side.

“Having said that, we have lots of players who can replace him.”

“We have prepared well for the match and we are focused.

“We are all aware of the challenge that we are faced with but we are going to go out there and give it our all.

“We are not scared of Barcelona, we are raring to go.”

Lyon were unbeaten in the group stage en route to the last 16 but five draws and one win saw them finish second place to group winners Man City.

The Ligue 1 outfit will look to get inspiration from their solitary group stage win away at Manchester City as they square up against Barca in a two-legged affair.