Evening all and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the first leg of the Champions League last-16 clash between Lyon and Barcelona from France. The Groupama Stadium hosts the first leg of the knockout-round tie tonight, before the two teams meet at Camp Nou in the return match on March 13. Tonight will bring just the seventh meeting between these two teams in European competition. Barcelona have won four of the previous six, remaining unbeaten in the process.

TEAMS!

LYON: Lopes; Dobois, Denayer, Marcelo, Mendy; Aouar, Ndombele; Terrier, Depay, Traore; Dembele

BARCELONA: Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Rakitic, Busquets, Roberto; Dembele, L Suarez, Messi

Lyon are without their captain Nabil Fekir for the first leg, with the 25-year-old missing out through suspension. The Frenchman has 11 goals in all competitions this season and his absence is a big blow for the hosts. Key midfielder Tanguy Ndombele had been struggling with an ankle problem, but he is fit to start, as is Jason Denayer at the back. Marcelo, meanwhile, plays after only suffering from cramp in Friday's Ligue 1 fixture against Guingamp. Memphis Depay and Moussa Dembele also both start for the home side.

As for Barcelona, Thomas Vermaelen is unavailable after picking up a calf problem against Real Valladolid, with the Belgian joining Rafinha, Jasper Cillessen and Arthur on the sidelines. Samuel Umtiti makes the bench, though, having recovered from a knee problem. Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Nelson Semedo and Clement Lenglet all return, but Philippe Coutinho is left on the bench once again with Ousmane Dembele starting alongside Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi in the final third.

It must be said that there is a wonderful atmosphere inside the stadium. Can Lyon pick up a first-leg advantage, or will Barcelona triumph? Stay tuned for live coverage of the action!

KICKOFF:  Barcelona kick things off in France...

SHOT!  ... bright start from Barcelona as Dembele breaks into a dangerous position, but the winger flashes his attempt wide of the post. Almost the perfect start from the away side.

As mentioned, the Spanish giants recorded a 6-3 aggregate win when they met in the last-16 stage of the 2008-09 competition, but all four of their other meetings were in the group stages. Lyon held Barcelona to a 2-2 draw on home soil in November 2007, but the Catalan outfit recorded a 3-2 victory in France in October 2001, with Patrick Kluivert and Rivaldo both on the scoresheet.

YELLOW CARD!  Aouar (Lyon) picks up an early yellow for fouling Messi just outside the box.

Barcelona have a free kick in a very, very dangerous position here.

SHOT!  Not Messi's finest effort. Clipped harmlessly over the crossbar.

SAVE!  Decent stop from Ter Stegen to keep out a low strike from Aouar.

It is an extremely open game at the moment with both teams committing numbers in the final third of the field. I would be astounded if this finished goalless. Or have I just jinxed it?

Somewhat surprisingly, this is the first time in seven seasons that Lyon have reached the knockout round of the Champions League. The French outfit are facing their 10th last-16 tie in the competition and despite winning the first three, have actually lost five of their last six encounters at this stage. The opening 10 minutes of this match have absolutely flown past.

SAVE!  Incredible save from Ter Stegen to tip a powerful Terrier strike onto the crossbar!

Lyon's last victory at this stage of the competition came during the 2009-10 campaign, when they overcame Real Madrid 2-1 on aggregate. They were beaten by APOEL in the 2011-12 season, though, and have found it a real struggle to compete at this stage of the Champions League in recent years. Still goalless, but Barcelona are dominating the ball at the moment.

SHOT!  Dembele's strike from outside the box clears the Lyon goal by some distance.

Lyon are the underdogs tonight, but they have only lost one of their last 10 European matches, while they have won seven and lost just one of their last 13 home European games. What's more, the Ligue 1 outfit have been beaten only once at this stage of the Champions League on home soil - a 2-0 reverse to Roma in 2007. Barcelona are in for a really tough test tonight, make no mistake.

The fact that Lyon have never beaten Barcelona in a European match is a worry, but the French side have won six of their last seven fixtures in all competitions, including a 2-1 success over Guingamp in the league on Friday night. Still all square in this last-16 first leg.

CHANCE!  Big chance for Messi, but the forward fires an Alba cross too high!

SAVE!  Super save from Lopes to keep out a low strike from Dembele, who had danced into a shooting position before looking to register. Really good work from the Frenchman.

While there is every chance that Barcelona could land yet another La Liga and Copa del Rey double this season, the Champions League is the trophy that the Catalan giants really want to lift come the end of the campaign. The visitors continue to look very dangerous here.

Barcelona have not won this competition since 2015 and have lost at the quarter-final stage in each of the last three seasons, which is simply not good enough for a team of their ilk. This is the 15th straight year that the Spanish giants have made the knockout round of the Champions League, though, and they have been victorious in 12 of their previous 14 ties.

Ernesto Valverde's side are without a win in their last five away knockout games, but they triumphed at both Tottenham Hotspur and PSV Eindhoven in the group stage of this season's competition, in addition to picking up a 1-1 draw at Inter Milan. Would they accept a draw tonight? A score draw, probably. But not a 0-0. Messi has just had a corner headed clear by Mendy.

The presence of Lionel Messi means that the Catalan giants have to be seen as one of the favourites for the trophy this season. However, it would be fair to say that they have not been in the best form in recent weeks. Not too much to report in the last few minutes here.

Barcelona now have a seven-point lead at the top of La Liga, but they face a huge game away at Sevilla next weekend before travelling to Real Madrid for the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on February 27. March also gets off to a bang as they visit Los Blancos once again, this time in the league. Tonight is all about the Champions League for Valverde's side, though.

Good play from Lyon as Memphis releases Dembele inside the Barcelona box, but Pique was across to make an excellent challenge. Good football from the home side in that passage.

The fact that Barcelona have only won seven of their last 19 away games in the Champions League means that Lyon will really fancy their chances of picking up a result tonight.

YELLOW CARD!  Dubois (Lyon) is booked for a poor tackle on Suarez.

CLOSE!  Lenglet nods a header over the Lyon crossbar from a dangerous position.

SAVE!  Comfortable for Lopes to keep out a dipping effort from Luis Suarez.

As mentioned, Barcelona recorded a 6-3 aggregate win when they met Lyon in the last-16 stage of the 2008-09 competition, but all four of their other meetings were in the group stages. Lyon held Barcelona to a 2-2 draw on home soil in November 2007, but the Catalan outfit recorded a 3-2 victory in France in October 2001, with Patrick Kluivert and Rivaldo both on the scoresheet.

Dembele lifts a cross towards the head of Luis Suarez, but Lopes is out to claim and the Barcelona forward stumbles into the goalkeeper, bringing a Lyon free kick.

Not too much to shout about at the moment, with the pace of the match certainly dropping. Lyon are sitting in a defensive shape while Barcelona pass and probe in a forward area.

Barcelona continue to counter on Lyon, but the final pass from the Spanish champions has been really disappointing, with even Messi guilty of not finding a teammate.

CLOSE!  Ousmane Dembele just misses the post with a clever effort!

Just the one minute of added time at the end of the first period.

SHOT!  Super football from Lyon in the final third of the field, but the move ends with Terrier striking over the crossbar from a narrow angle. Excellent work from the home side.

SHOT!  Busquets sees his shot deflected wide of the Lyon post.

HALF TIME:  LYON 0-0 BARCELONA

So there we have it. The referee brings the first period to a close with the two teams level at 0-0. That does not begin to tell the story, though, with both sides having a number of good chances to score. It has been a highly watchable first 45 minutes of Champions League football.

STATISTICS! Barcelona shaded the first-half possession with 54%, while they had 12 attempts, but just two of those were on target. Lyon also managed two shots on target, but from just four attempts. A couple of yellow cards to report, with Aouar and Dubois in the book for Lyon.

BENCH WATCH! Barcelona boss Valverde has a lot of talent on his bench tonight, with Coutinho, Malcom and Vidal among those who could see some action in the second half of this last-16 first leg. Lyon, meanwhile, have the likes of Cornet, Tete and Cheikh in reserve.

KICKOFF:  Lyon resume the action here...

... no changes from either side at the break, which is not a surprise. However, I suspect that both managers will have alterations in mind as the second period develops here.

Lyon continue to press high up the field, but that is leaving them vulnerable to the counter-attack and Ousmane Dembele does not need a second invitation to open his legs here.

Mendy almost loses the ball inside his own box, but Roberto fouls the left-back, much to the delight of the home fans, who would have seen their team in some serious trouble there.

CLOSE!  Memphis curls one just wide of the Barcelona post, having been the first player to react to a loose ball in a dangerous position. Lyon continue to play well here.

Nothing much from Barcelona at the moment, with Lyon very much in control. Would a goalless draw be a good result for the Spanish champions? It would not be terrific.

Better from Barcelona in the last couple of minutes in terms of possession, but they are still struggling to create, with Ousmane Dembele's latest cross going over for a goal kick.

We are just entering the period of the match where both managers will be considering alterations. Lyon have been the better team in the second period, but clear chances have been few and far between. Barcelona's players are almost just waiting for Messi to do something here.

It is also still goalless between Liverpool and Bayern Munich at Anfield. Surely we will not have two goalless draws on the same night? I still fancy there to be at least one goal in this game.

Memphis drives into a dangerous position before flashing a cross into the box, but Ter Stegen gets hands on it and the Spanish champions can break down the other end of the field.

Dembele runs away from Alba inside the Barcelona box, but Ter Stegen is off his line to make the claim. Excellent goalkeeping from the German and not for the first time tonight.

Just has not happened for Messi thus far, with another ball just rolling away from him. No movement on either bench, but we are very much in that stage of the match here.

BARCELONA SUB! Coutinho replaces Dembele.

LYON SUB! Traore is replaced by Tousart.

CHANCE!  Huge chance for Luis Suarez as Alba finds the striker inside the box, but he slices wide of the post. It has not been the Uruguay international's night either here.

Barcelona are very much the team on the front foot at the moment with Lyon having to suffer without the ball. That said, Lopes is fairly comfortable between the home side's sticks.

Memphis clips a deep cross harmlessly behind for a Barcelona goal kick. Still 0-0.

LYON SUB! Cornet replaces Terrier.

SAVE!  Decent save from Lopes to keep out a strike from Coutinho.

You have to wonder whether Fekir could have inspired Lyon to a win over an off-colour Barcelona tonight. The France international has been a huge miss for his team.

SHOT!  Alba sees his strike fly harmlessly over the crossbar.

Could Malcom make a difference for Barcelona late on? Luis Suarez has been poor tonight, but I find it hard to believe that Valverde will take the centre-forward off in the latter stages.

YELLOW CARD!  Roberto (Barcelona) is booked for a foul on Marcelo.

BARCELONA SUB! Vidal takes the place of Roberto.

Super defending from Mendy to clear ahead of Semedo as Barcelona continue to force the issue. Barcelona are the team on the front foot with just about six minutes of normal time left.

LYON SUB! Ndombele is replaced by Cheikh.

SAVE!  Wonderful save from Lopes to keep out a curling Busquets effort!

CHANCE!  Luis Suarez somehow heads a Messi effort wide at the far post!

YELLOW CARD!  Semedo (Barcelona) is booked for a foul on Mendy.

Barcelona have a free kick in a very dangerous area as Mendy fells Messi...

... Messi's effort hits the wall.

We are into the first of three additional minutes in this match.

Lyon are chopping down Barcelona players at the moment as they do not want the ball anywhere near their own box at this stage. Not long left in this last-16 first leg.

FULL TIME:  LYON 0-0 BARCELONA

So there we have it. The referee brings the second period to a close with the two teams level at 0-0. Both had chances to make the breakthrough on the night, but this last-16 Champions League tie is goalless ahead of the second leg at Camp Nou next month. See you next time!