Any of the four remaining teams in the UEFA Women's Champions League would have been a worthy pairing but this two-legged tie between Manchester City and Olympique Lyonnais looks to be one that many will enjoy. City, as the newcomers to the competition, will want to show the world what exactly they can achieve and there is no better team to test their development on than OL, who have won the competition three times in their history and as recently as last year.

City come into the tie as underdogs

The term 'underdogs' rarely applies to Manchester City but in this case, it's apt. Lyon are the premier team in Europe and have been for many years now. That is where City aspire to be and what better way to prove their credentials than to see how well they match up to the quality Lyon have in their ranks.

The midfield partnership of Jill Scott and Isobel Christiansen has been a revelation for City since they first entered the competition and they continue to not only steady the ship for City but also provide a great platform for City's forwards. Lyon will be a midfield that these two have not had to deal with before.

Camile Abily and Saki Kumagai are considered some of the best in the world in their position and in Abily, Lyon have a player that can win games by herself. Her delivery from set pieces is almost always accurate and her free-kicks tend to be goals on most occasions. Scott and Christiansen will have to stop these two players and prevent them from controlling the tempo of the match to give City a chance of winning this.

OL have an enviable front line that will cause City problems

When you go down the list of forwards currently playing for Olympique Lyonnais, you realise that any of them would be starters for almost every team in the world bar their current club. That is how deep OL's attack runs. Ada Hegerberg, Alex Morgan and Eugénie Le Sommer are regarded to be in the top ten list of forwards in the world and their productivity over the years but especially this season, proves that.

OL's manager, Gérard Prêcheur, has had the tall task of keeping all three players happy with their playing time since Morgan joined the team in January, and so far, he has made it work. These three don't always need service consistently to score goals as they are capable of producing moments of magic through their on individual brilliance and is part of the reason why they have scored as many goals as they have this season.

Hegerberg has 23 goals in 25 appearances, Le Sommer has 25 goals in 24 appearances and Morgan has nine goals in ten appearances. That is how good Lyon's forwards are and their fans will want them to add to that tally against City.

The likes of Steph Houghton and Jenny Beattie will have to be constantly vigilant especially if all three forwards line up together as a three-front. Their ability on the ball, in space and in the air make them almost impossible to keep quiet and Houghton will have to lead her backline well to prevent any of the OL forwards from winning the game for their team.

Key matchups

For all of the talent on show for Manchester City in midfield, the key to the tie could be between right-back Lucy Bronze and whoever OL line up against her, which looks like it could be Morgan or Dzsenifer Marozsán based on previous lineups by the French team in the competition. Bronze is probably one of, if not the best, right back currently playing in the world today and her ability going forward is matched by her defensive capabilities and one-on-one marking. She will need to be at her absolute best over the two legs to prevent any service from the left flank of OL and if matched up with Morgan, will have to stop her from finding room to run into as her pace is always a handful for any defender.

OL will look to young defender Kadeisha Buchanan to have a stellar semi-final against the likes of Carli Lloyd and Jane Ross. Buchanan is a talent, that is plain to see, but she has a propensity to dive into ill-advised tackles in and around her own area which could end up changing the game should someone as savvy as Lloyd or Ross get fouled in the box. She will be partnered next to experienced captain Wendie Renard which should lessen the likelihood of any instances like that but if she is matched up one-on-one with any of City's forwards regularly, she will have to ensure that her tackles are timed well all the time.

Prediction

Manchester City 1-3 Olympique Lyonnais