Barcelona travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday. We have to try to have the flawless game and to make the best decisions also for this type of team, because this is a different opponent.
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“The Premier League is a tough competition but, for me, he is capable of managing any big English club”.
“Sometimes they lose 3-0 at home and they are similar to Real Madrid; they only play like champions at certain moments”. However after Conte was succeeded by Max Allegri, Juve managed to reach the final of the Champions League with virtually the same group of players who Conte managed.
The Blues are coming off a weekend win against Hull City in a fifth-round FA Cup match. With Eden Hazard, Alvaro Morata, Pedro and Willian they have such quality up front.
Conte is without trio Tiemone Bakayoko, David Luiz and Ross Barkley while the visitors will miss Philippe Coutinho and Nelson Semedo.
The last time the two sides met in this competition was back in 2012 in the Champions League semi-final.
Marca, for their part, are talking about how Real Madrid finally look to be turning their season around: they are coming off an impressive 3-1 win over PSG, and also defeated Real Betis 5-3 thanks to a special Asensio performance. Their first leg is today in the Champions League.
Barcelona are 11/10 and the draw can be backed at 12/5. Barcelona is bidding to reach the quarterfinals for a record-extending 11th consecutive year.
Marcos Alonso was back in training today after missing the last three games with an ankle problem and the Spaniard should be fit to replace Emerson Palmeiri in the left wing-back role.
Barca legend Lionel Messi is yet to score in eight appearances against Chelsea, but Conte insists he remains the danger man. Regardless, the manager highlighted the pressure that comes with a tie of such magnitude, stating that it is important to revel in the pressure rather than succumb to it in matches such as the visit of Barcelona. That’s his worst scoring mark against any club in the world.
“We had to win”, said Valverde following the 2-0 victory.
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But for all that the extra information is welcome, I’m convinced that Barcelona won’t be surprised by Chelsea as Ernesto Valverde’s coaching staff should have studied their opponents properly. Meantime, right back Nélson Semedo is suspended for the match due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Chelsea and FC Barcelona have a score to settle and in a two-legged tie anything can happen.
