Chelsea vs Barcelona: Champions League Round of 16 first leg preview
Chelsea host Barcelona at Stamford Bridge for the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.
The Blues head into the match on the back of their 4-0 win over Championship side Hull in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Antonio Conte’s side were 4-0 up at half-time thanks to a brace from Willian, another from Pedro and a first goal for the club from Olivier Giroud.
Chelsea currently lie 4th in the Premier League table, a point ahead of 5th place Spurs.
The Londoners finished runners-up in Group C. Despite having an equal number of points as Roma, and a superior goal difference, Chelsea were placed 2nd due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
With three wins, two draws and one defeat in the group stage, Chelsea finished above Atletico Madrid and minnows Qarabag.Eden Hazard vs Leo Messi
All eyes will be on Eden Hazard and Lionel Messi on Tuesday night.
Hazard has scored 15 goals this season, including 11 in the Premier League and 3 in the Champions League.
The Belgian is seemingly back to his best and has also produced three assists in the competitions this season.
Lionel Messi is on 29 goals for the season, although only 3 have come in Europe for the Argentine who is tearing up La Liga once again.
Quite incredibly, Messi is goalless in eight matches against Chelsea.
Chelsea team news vs Barcelona
Tiemoue Bakayoko could miss out although Conte fully expects Marcos Alonso to be available.
Conte also confirmed that Alvaro Morata has been training regularly and will be involved on Tuesday.
Ross Barkley is out with a hamstring injury while David Luiz is a long-term absentee.
Former Barcelona duo Cesc Fabregas and Pedro Rodriguez are both in contention to face their former side.
Barcelona team news vs Chelsea
January signing Philippe Coutinho is cup-tied, having played for Liverpool in the group stage of the competition this season.
Nelson Semedo will serve a one-match suspension.
Thomas Vermaelen is a doubt with a hamstring injury but has made the Barcelona squad. Sergi Samper is a long-term absentee.
Chelsea predicted line-up vs Barcelona
Barcelona predicted line-up vs Chelsea
No comments:
Post a Comment