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What 2 Watch 4: Chelsea-Barcelona

What 2 Watch 4: Chelsea-Barcelona

Somehow nobody bothered to ask Conte about team news or injuries in the pre-match press conference, but as far as we can tell, Tiemoue Bakayoko and David Luiz are the only two definite absentees. Ross Barkley was back in training yesterday though is also unlikely to take part so soon, but Marcos Alonso should be available to return as the left wing-back after three matches out. Chelsea rotated heavily for Friday’s win over Hull City in the FA Cup, so most key players should have had a solid week to rest, recover, and get ready.

Chelsea’s European campaign after a year’s absence has seen some nice highs (2-1 win over Atletico, for example) and some rather shocking lows (3-0 loss to Roma, for example), all in the span of just six games. What will tonight bring is anyone’s guess — at their best, Chelsea can hang with the best in the world. And yet this same team can lose by three goals to Bournemouth and Watford. If last year was defined by the passion of relentless consistency, this season has been anything but.

On the other side...

Right back Nelson Semedo is suspended and record-signing Philippe Coutinho is ineligible, but all the other famous and not so famous names are here, happy, and hangry for revenge for 2012. Barca have La Liga more or less wrapped up already so this is their biggest emphasis for the rest of the season.

Since losing their version of the Charity Shield before the start of the season, Barca have lost just one (count ‘em, 1) match all season, a 1-0 cup shocker to local rivals Espanyol — Barca advanced anyway after winning the second leg of that knockout round 2-0. They have conceded just 11 goals in the league (24 games) while scoring 62. They conceded 1 goal in the 6 group stage matches.

Prediction:
Chelsea 1-2 Barcekona