Chelsea vs Barcelona

February 19, 2018
By: Milos Markovic

Premier League stuttering champions Chelsea are playing host to La Liga leaders Barcelona in what should be one of the most enthralling Champions League clashes of the week.

Inconsistent Chelsea

Reigning Premier League champions have seen things change drastically since they lifted the domestic trophy in dominant fashion last season.

Antonio Conte’s men currently sit in fourth place in the standings, 19 points adrift of champions-elect Manchester City and their top-four credentials under huge test. The Blues have endured a problematic season which saw them lose no less than six matches in the Premier League this season – including a 3-0 slump against Watford and a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Watford at the beginning of February. Conte’s men bounced back from a disappointing brace with a 3-0 win over WBA and a comfortable 4-0 FA Cup triumph over Hull City last time out. The Italian manager shuffled his deck last weekend with January signing Olivier Giroud leading the line from the start in attack and Brazilian winger Willian impressing in one of his rare starts this season. Blues will be hoping their most important player Eden Hazard will be on top of his game against Barcelona. The Belgian now has 15 goals and 4 assists to his name, including 6 goals in last six matches across all competitions.

Ross Barkley is unavailable through a thigh injury, whereas David Luiz has picked up a knock. Tiemoue Bakayoko is another absentee for the Barcelona clash.

Are Barcelona losing pace?

The Catalans have enjoyed a fantastic campaign this season across the entire grid. Ernesto Valverde’s men have been running away with La Liga title already seen in their hands for the better part of the season but successive stalemates against Espanyol and Getafe earlier this month have raised a couple of questions.

The Catalans managed to sandwich a Copa del Rey 2-0 win over Valencia in between the successive La Liga draws, before getting back to winning ways at Eibar last time out. Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba scored a goal each to help their team record a positive result ahead of an important trip to England. Barcelona cruised through the group stage of the Champions League, finishing top of Group D with 14 points and will be keen to extend the run. Leo Messi remains the biggest Barcelona threat this season. The diminutive Argentine wizard is currently on 23 goals and 12 assists in 30 appearances and will be the one to watch at Stamford Bridge.

Nelson Semedo is serving his yellow-card suspension and won’t be travelling to London, whereas Thomas Vermaelen is sidelined with a muscle injury.

Verdict

Chelsea last met Barcelona in the semi-finals of their Champions League title-winning campaign back in 2011/12 when they eliminated Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate and went on to beat Bayern Munich in the finals. Things are much different this season however and Chelsea are up for a much bigger task against in-form Catalans.

Top pick: Barcelona   2.10 (11/10) @BetVictor

Alternative pick 1: Barcelona/Barcelona   3.5 (5/2) @Ladbrokes

Alternative pick 2: Leo Messi to score anytime   2.3 (13/10) @PaddyPower

We Highly Recommend These Places
Share your Opinion!