The first leg of the third-round qualifying match will be played at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon on Wednesday.
With Grasshoppers having finished second in the 2012/13 Swiss Super League, Garde Lyon was unlucky to draw such strong opposition in the qualifying rounds.
"This is a very complicated tie for us and I have already said that it was not a favourable draw," Garde said on Monday.
"I actually watched Zurich play in their previous match and this is a team that is not there by chance, they deserve to be at this level.
"Grasshoppers beat Basel last year in the final of the Swiss Cup and they competed with Basel in the league and they were the only team to compete at that level.
"We can overcome this difficult opponent but we have to work hard to do that."
"Being scared or afraid of our opponents will not help us," Skibbe said.
"However we do have respect for the way Lyon plays their football, especially against Real Madrid (in a friendly on July 24), where they played really well for 70 minutes."
"I do believe it is an advantage for us to have started our domestic championship already, whilst Lyon haven't," he said.
"On the other hand we have to admit, that the games we have played have been tough and our opponents might be more relaxed and stronger as a result."
