Champions League: Match preview of Barcelona vs Chelsea
Barcelona vs Chelsea
Chelsea vs Barcelona is scheduled for February 21 at Stamford Bridge, London and will kickoff is at 1:15 AM IST, February 21
The first leg of Chelsea vs Barcelona is scheduled for February 21 at Stamford Bridge, London and will kickoff at 1:15 AM.
It is supposed to be one of the major clashes of Champions League and fans and supporters of both sides have high expectations fromtheir favourite team.
Barcelona is currently having arguably one of the best seasons till now. They have already made it into the final of the Copa del Rey and holds a comfortable lead in the La Liga standings, with many plus points, they will enter the game with a high.
The squad of Barcelona is currently in good form. The strikers,Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez have netted some splendid goals.
They had suffered a big transfer past summer in the form of Neymar Jr's exitbut another Brazilian star compensated the loss.
Philippe Coutinho was added to the Barca squadbut unfortunately he willnot playtodayafter having already appeared in the Champions League this season while playing for Liverpool.
Lots of drama is expected and both the teams are under pressure. Antonio Conte, Chelsea head coach spoke to media on the eve of their UEFA Champions League clash.
He said his team has to pay "great attention" to not only Messibut the whole team. He mentioned that the current squadis very dangerous.
He further added, "Barcelona is having a fantastic season. They are top of the league and are in the final in the Cup in Spain and they have the potential to win this Cup.
On the other hand, Eden Hazard is expected to be recalled to the team after the Belgian international was rested for the 4-0 win over Hull City in the English FA Cup fifth round.
Nelson Semedo is serving a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation during the group stage.
David Luiz and Tiemoue Bakayoko are injury doubts for Chelsea but Marcos Alonso is set to return. Also, Alvaro Morata and Thibaut Courtois are one of the key players along with Eden Hazard.
Here are some quick facts about the match:
Barcelona are attempting to reach the quarter-finals for a record-extending 11th straight year.
Chelsea have only advanced beyond the last 16 once in the past five seasons, losing at this stage to Paris Saint-Germain in their two most recent knockout ties.
This is one of only two last-16 ties featuring a pair of former European champions.