Stop Ronaldo, stop Juventus?

Ronaldo has terrorised European defences for more than a decade now, and despite his 35 years, continues to impose his will on opponents, the Champions League’s record goalscorer having scored in his last 11 games in all competitions.

Nobody can reasonably question the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s continued quality, but perhaps Juventus are overly dependent on the former Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United and Real Madrid man. Ronaldo has scored 44 per cent of Juve’s goals this season, and every single one that was not a penalty was nonetheless scored inside the box.

One of Lyon’s biggest selection headaches this season has been picking two from Jason Denayer, Joachim Andersen and Marcelo. Rudi Garcia’s recent shift to three at the back means he doesn’t have to, and three centre-backs could prove better than two, especially if clogging your own box is one of the only ways to keep Ronaldo at bay.

Cutting off the supply

That assumes Juventus can get the ball to Ronaldo in the first place, something about which Lyon midfielders Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Tousart will have something to say. OL fended off reported interest from Arsenal and others to acquire Guimaraes from Athletico Paranaense in the winter transfer window, while Hertha Berlin saw fit to spend over €20m on Tousart before loaning him straight back until the end of the season.

Watch: Highlights of Lyon's 2-0 win over Metz

They were paired for the first time against Metz last Friday, and whilst Les Grenats are no Juventus, Lyon fans have good reason to be excited at what could prove to be the best double pivot this side of a Dancing on Ice final for the coming half season. Guimaraes and Tousart combined for 22 tackles as well as winning 78 percent of their aerial challenges, helping their side dominate possession with their athleticism and movement.

Juventus’ Sami Khedira is a doubt with a knee injury, whilst fellow 32-year-old Blaise Matuidi’s recent plight is telling. The former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder has been substituted on and off two times each in Juve’s last five games – three of which they have failed to win – as Maurizio Sarri has struggled to settle on his best midfield.

Ten years younger at 22, Les Gones’ pair will be optimistic of making La Vecchia Signora’s midfield look particularly aged on Wednesday. And if the visitors can’t get on the ball, they can’t get it to Ronaldo.

A tale of two strikers?

Lyon have their own weapons too, of course. Moussa Dembélé has top-scored for them in Ligue 1 Conforama this term with 14 goals and has a flair for the big occasion – just ask Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, who found themselves fishing a Dembélé goal out of their net at Europe’s top table when the forward played for Celtic.

Juventus may have won through to the quarter-finals in the last two seasons, and reached the final as recently as 2017, but Lyon have all the tools to cause an upset on Wednesday.