Champions Preview: Barcelona wary of Lyon; City aim to break semis jinx

Manchester City have never gone past the semi-final stage of Europe's premier club competition.

With Olympique Lyonnais having beaten Paris St Germain in Ligue 1 and Manchester City in the group phase of the Champions League, Barcelona are well aware of the trap they could be stepping into when they face the French club.

Lyon handed PSG their only league defeat a couple of weeks ago and claimed a 2-1 win at Manchester City in the group phase, showing they have a capacity to raise their level when it matters.

Barca, who laboured to a 1-0 win against Valladolid in La Liga on Saturday, will not take anything for granted in the last-16 first leg on Tuesday.

"I have a lot of respect for Lyon, they beat PSG recently," midfielder Sergio Busquets told reporters.

"They have very fast players in the midfield and in attack, they try to create space. We have to close those spaces."

Coach Ernesto Valverde noted OL were undefeated in the competition.

"It is going to be a big challenge for us," Valverde said. "But we're hungry and ready for this game."

As always in the knockout stage, scoring an away goal can be paramount, and there are concerns that Barca have been less of an attacking side lately.

"It is true that scoring an away goal is important because if you don't, it leaves everything up in the air for the second leg," said Valverde.

"Everybody has their opinion but the question is surprising. Maybe we have not created that many chance but we always attack.

"Tomorrow we will see."

Why Man City must win Champions League

Manchester City must win the Champions League to be considered one of Europe's elite clubs, midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has said.

City have won the Premier League three times since the Abu Dhabi United Group bought them in 2008 but have never gone past the semi-final stage of Europe's premier club competition.

"If you want to be in the international elite ... you need to clinch this trophy," Gundogan told UEFA.com ahead of Wednesday's last 16 tie at Schalke.

"I think that, if we were to win it someday, the club would enter a new era, the same level as Real (Madrid), Barca, Bayern or Juventus, clubs that are maybe a step above us. Maybe not in the way they play football, but as a club at least."

City were knocked out in the last 16 three times in the last five seasons while their only semi-final appearance came in 2016 when they were knocked out by Real Madrid 1-0 on aggregate.

"We've experienced a lot in the Champions League in recent years, not all of it positive, of course. We should've won it at least once," Gundogan added.

"The biggest low was probably being knocked out by Liverpool last season. For that reason, the motivation to go far in this competition is huge and I think we have the quality required."