LYON'S passage through the group was a thrilling ride that made the whole of Europe take notice.
They emerged unbeaten, albeit with five draws from six, and took four points off Pep Guardiola's all-conqeruing Man City including a cracking 2-1 win at the Etihad.
The free-flowing French averaged two goals a game and leaked plenty too with their 11 strikes conceded the highest of any of the last-16 teams.
After getting the better of Guardiola they now try to take down the Catalan's former club who are still on course for the Treble this season.
Barcelona strolled to top spot in their group with an unbeaten streak of 14 points from 18, including a 4-2 success over Spurs which turned into the Messi show.
The Spanish champs clicked into gear that night at Wembley and of course possess the quality to dismantle any team. However, their Champions League away record in recent years has been underwhelming with three wins from 10, with two of those coming this season.
And in the knockout phase they've failed to win their last five sucessive away matches, drawing with Chelsea and losing 3-0 at Roma and Juventus, 4-0 at PSG and 2-0 at Atletico Madrid.
They head into this tie on the back of a stuttering run that featured three stalemates before a dogged 1-0 weekend win over Valladolid and defender Gerard Pique has admitted his side will “suffer a lot” if they don't improve.
So the Catalans don't look at the peak of their powers while Lyon's confidence is brimming after six wins from seven – including a recent 2-1 home triumph over PSG – and just two defeats in 15.
The absence of Nabil Fekir – dubbed the French Messi – through suspension is a hefty blow to the hosts but it's not beyond them to keep the tie alive and I like the 117-100 at Marthonbet for them to avoid defeat.
Both teams to score looks solid but pays a best 11-20 with Martathonbet so double it with under 11 corners for a 7-5 bet365 Bet Builder. The corners bet would have comfortably landed in two of three home games for Lyon in the group and the same ratio for Barca on their travels.
All five goals conceded by Barca in the Champions League this season have come after the break and Lyon are 17-20 at Betway to continue that trend with a second-half strike.
Messi – who has 90 goals in his last 90 Champions League starts – is unsurprisingly hot favourite in the scoring stakes, 3-1 at Betfair to hit the opener and a skinny 8-11 at Unibet to net any time.
Ousmane Dembele could be a value shout at 2-1 with Unibet to get on the scoresheet for the La Liga giants while Lyon frontman Memphis Depay has a competition-high four assists and is worth a go at 11-4 with 888Sport to deliver another.
This UEFA Champions League match between Lyon and Barcelona will be played on Feb 19, 2019 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Lyon vs Barcelona prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.