Lyon (AFP)

"Everything is possible in a match". Like his striker Karl Toko Ekambi, Olympique Lyonnais is preparing for his Champions League quarter-final on Saturday in Lisbon against Manchester City with the firm intention of achieving a new feat, the Final 8 formula giving everyone a chance , small or large.

"It is played on a single match, not two, as in the Coupe de France and it is not necessarily the best team to win in this format," Toko-Ekambi noted at a press conference on Wednesday.

The team, whose players and management underwent tests for Covid-19 on Tuesday that turned out negative, will leave for Portugal on Thursday mid-morning.

- Denayer and Cornet trained -

Defenders Jason Denayer and Maxwel Cornet, affected on Saturday against Juventus Turin, took part in this session and it is very possible that they will be fit for Saturday.

It seems unlikely that coach Rudi Garcia will change his device in 3-5-2 adopted both against Juve and in the League Cup final against Paris eight days earlier.

An organization that he already favored in the weeks preceding the confinement and in particular to the go against Juventus (1-0), on February 26.

In his weekly column for the daily Le Progrès, the former international striker, seven-time French champion with OL, Sidney Govou, believes that the team "has found its balance".

"City are very strong offensively, above all, but anything can happen in a match, especially since OL have found their defense and are using their qualities in the middle with three players who are not bothered with the ball," said Govou.

"This system allows all his central defenders to be more comfortable, limiting errors. On the other hand, a midfielder or a side must be more forward than against Juve so that the attackers come out of a thankless role and create more opportunities, "he wrote again pointing to the weakness of the Lyon offensive where Depay, who had a knee operation in December, has not recovered to his best level.

Thus, in front of Juventus, apart from the penalty converted by the Dutchman, OL did not frame any shot, nor obtained any opportunity.

"This does not worry us because we know why we went to Turin: it was to qualify. On the first leg, our statistics were completely different. We had chances," however, Toko Ekambi retorts.

- A state of mind finally found -

But it is of course on the state of mind and solidarity, shortcomings often highlighted by sporting director Juninho since his arrival a year ago, and finally found by the Lyonnais since the resumption, that OL counts s 'press to create a new exploit.

"The team that qualifies will be the one that will have the most desire and that will be the most concentrated, the one that will make the fewest mistakes. It will be necessary not to take a goal and to do the maximum to put in", added again, without too much surprise, however, Karl Toko-Ekambi recruited in the January transfer window.

Holder in Turin, he could leave his place this time, at kick-off, to Moussa Dembélé.

However, the former Angers and Villarreal striker does not see OL as "a little Thumb".

"If we are here it is because we are among the eight best clubs in Europe this season. But it is better that City sees us like this and neglects us so that we can enjoy it," he said. hoped for.

However, there is little chance that this will happen: in the fall of 2018, OL beat City in the group stage in Manchester (2-1) before conceding a draw on the return trip (2-2).

© 2020 AFP