Semifinal clash

Going into the home-and-away tie against French side Olympique Lyon, to be played on April 21 and 27, the words "Bayern" and "major roll" were being used a lot together. Not only had the Bavarians knocked out Manchester United in the quarterfinals, they engaged in a bit of target practice in a 7-0 thrashing of Hanover in the Bundesliga.

With Lyon in third place in France Ligue 1, this season represents the Bavarians' best chance of getting back to the Champions League final since they won the title in 2000-01. And indeed, the bookmakers are tipping Bayern as the clear favorites in this encounter.

This is the first time Lyon have made it as far as the semifinals in the Champions League, and Bayern are a richer club that currently rides atop the table in a better league. What's more they have winger Arjen Robben, who's playing the most dominant football of anyone in Europe not named Lionel Messi.

But although coach Louis van Gaal's side have every reason to believe a trip to the final in Madrid on May 22 is within reach, they had best beware of the French side, which has made a habit this season of toppling big names.

Giant killers

Coach Claude Puel's men did not get where they are by accident. To progress beyond the group stage, Lyon had to beat Liverpool, and their round-of-16 opponents were no less than Real Madrid.

The French side has a top striker in Argentinian Lisandro Lopez. He's scored seven goals in the Champions League thus far, including a pair that sent Lyon past rivals Bordeaux in the quarterfinals.

But Olympique's real strength is defense. Puels usually gets 10 men behind the ball, and both Liverpool and Real were frustrated by Lyon's tenacity, wearing themselves out and getting punished on the counter-attack.

Plus, they have the advantage of playing their first game away from home, where any goals scored put pressure on the opponents for the return leg.

That's why Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge warned against over-confidence as the first leg approached.

"This is a match-up of equals," Rummenigge told reporters. "We're not the underdogs, but we're not the favorites, either."

Dynamic duo

Bayern have had to score a fair number of goals in their Champions League campaign, and most have come from two men: Robben and overachieving Croatian striker Ivica Olic.

Olic is one of the hardest working players in the business, and the Bavarians will hope that his tireless forechecking will allow him to capitalize on defensive lapses in concentration, much as he did when he scored on a crucial last-second poach against Manchester United in the quarterfinals.

Olic could be key since Bayern's pair of true center forwards, Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose, have both been out of form.

Robben has been little short of unstoppable, confounding defenses with his incisive runs and lightning-quick shots on goal. Lyon will likely devote at least a couple of defenders to the Dutch winger, which should open space on the left for his counterpart, Frank Ribery.

Ribery, though, has become something of an enigma. Injured for much of the season, he seems to have temporarily lost some of his assurance with the ball, and his lone goal in the Manchester United tie came on a terribly taken free kick that was lucky to be deflected off the wall.

And the Frenchman is not Bayern's only worry.

Question marks

In both of their previous Champions League ties, Bayern have lost their away matches. To take the pressure off, they need not only to win their home match but avoid conceding what could be deadly goals.

The Bavarians' defense has looked very solid in the league, but the squad van Gaal is fielding is young. On the left, both 19-year-old Diego Contento and 21-year-old Holger Badstuber have sometimes looked out of their depth against top European opposition.

Moreover, on the right Philipp Lahm - usually one of the best defensive players in the world - has looked out of sorts for most of this season.

Nonetheless, despite these potential weaknesses and regardless of what Bayern's bosses were saying before the tie, Munich are the favorites in this match-up, and they know it.

If their defense can rise to the occasion and their men up front get the job done in the Allianz Arena, they'll be in an excellent position to return to European club football's biggest match.

Author: Jefferson Chase
Editor: Chuck Penfold