Chelsea vs Barcelona Match Preview

Chelsea and Barcelona face each other in the champions league round of 16 on 21st february. This is the second biggest match of this knockout round. The current english champions vs Barcelona. In this article , you will find out who will qualify for the next round between chelsea and barcelona.

Without future to do here is the Chelsea vs Barcelona Match Preview

1) Antonio Conte vs Ernesto Valverde

The match is expected to be a tactically brilliant match. The reason for it is Antonio Conte the Chelsea manager and Ernesto Valverde the Barcelona manager. Both the managers might have a different approach and philosophy to the game, but they both pride on defencive brilliance. While, Antonio Conte has won the Serie B  with Bari, 3 consecutive Serie A with Juventus and Premier League with Chelsea last season, Ernesto Valverde has yet to make a big mark. He has won the Greece super league 3 times and 2 Greek Football Cup with Olympiacos and a Supercopa de Espana with Athletic Bilbao. While on just honors they both look to have achieved good, but with no disrespect winning a Greece super league is not that big in comparison to Serie A and Premier League. The sole trophy that has some degree is Supercopa de Espana which Valverde won against Barcelona in two legs. Putting that aside Ernesto is as good a manager as Antonio. He has not managed a very big club before Barcelona and managing barca is his first big test. So far he has been passing with flying colors. 

His Barcelona team currently sit on top of Laliga with being 7 points ahead of nearest rival. The two most noticeable performance his team has had this season is against Juventus in UCL where they won 3-0 and against Real Madrid where also they won 3-0. Antonio has had a mixed season so far. His Chelsea team has not been consistent this season. The best performance they put up was against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. Antonio has one problem and that is his teams performance in Champions League. He has never reach the quarterfinals with his team. Hence, this match is very important for both the managers who will try to build a legacy with a win. Conte is by far the most underpressured between the two. If chelsea lose, he might be sacked soon while for Valverde managing a club like Barca means he has to win the champions League.

2) Chelsea playing style vs Barcelona playing style

This is the greatest aspect of this match. The playing style definitely determines the intensity of a game before hand. The only reason why this match has not be dubbed as the match of round of 16 is because of the style of play. With Real Madrid and PSG it was expected to be a highly attacking contest. Thus it gained such a great reception. 

 Chelsea style of play

Conte usually goes with a 3-5-1-1 this season. This formation game chelsea a huge win against atletico away from home. With Hazard playing the number 10 role. Kante and Fabregas in the 3 man midfield . With Alonso and Moses in the wing back possession. The fact is this is a very difficult formation to break. It give an extra protection to the back and looks deadly in the counter. The wingbacks play wider and link up with Hazard who is the man of the team. With Hazard as the number 10, they cause havoc. Tho the results have not been consistent, yet when Chelsea clicks they look ever so deadly with this formation.

Barcelona style of play

Valverde has mainly adopted a 4-4-2 formation this  season. With Messi playing as the free striker role. The beauty of the formation is that Barcelona has become more solid in defence. The extra man in midfield helps give them a good defencive cover. While Messi operates a bit dep to collect the ball from mid-field and start attack. The big positive of the formation is Sergio Roberto and Jordi Alba, who get licence to link with attack and create problems. With Paulinho in the side he plays in the middle of the midfield with Busquets.Iniesta and Rakitic in the left and right of the midfield. The question tho is Dembele. Whenever he plays Valverde chooses to opt for 4-3-3 with Rakitic and Paulinho in midfield with Busquets as a defensive midfielder. The formation hardly matters as Barcelona defends better in both the formation.

3) Messi Vs Hazard

They are the man of their respective teams. Both play a similar role and are excellent dribbler of the ball. They both have a similar role in the team this season. 

With Messi being the focal point between the midfield and suarez . Hazard being the focal point between Morata and the chelsea midfield. The match will largely depend on one of them. If Messi is in mood he can destroy Chelsea with his vision and attack. 

While Hazard can do the same.Both are in great form this season, with Messi being on another level. Messi has not scored in his last 5 games and that rarely happens. Chelsea need to be worried as Messi will look to finally score against them. While Hazard , has linked beautifully with Giroud and that can be the cause of concern for Barcelona. 

All in all if these two are in mood , then this match will be nothing else than fireworks.

4) Predicted Line up

Barcelona's possible lineup:

Formation 4-4-2(most likely)

Ter Stegen | Roberto , Piqué , Umtiti , Alba | Rakitic , Paulinho , Busquets , Iniesta | Messi , Suárez

Formation 4-3-3(Little chance)

Ter Stegen | Roberto , Piqué , Umtiti , Alba | Rakitic , Busquets , Paulinho | Messi , Suárez , Dembele

while the 4-4-2 looks most likely , Barcelona has literally played all these players in the last match against Eibar. With Iniesta ageing they might think to go for a 4-3-3 and get dembele in the match . with Iniesta coming of the bench.  Tho it is very unlikely to happen as Valverde knows that a excellent defence is needed in this match. An extra midfielder will be better than a winger in this match.

Chelsea's possible lineup:

Formation 3-4-3

Courtois| Rudiger , Christensen , Azpilicueta| Alonso , Kante , Fabregas , Moses | Willian , Morata , Hazard

Formation 3-5-2

Courtois| Cahill , Christensen , Azpilicueta| Alonso, Drinkwater , Kante , Fabregas , Moses | Hazard , Morata

These two formation are tough to choose between. It will totally depend on Conte. If is looking for defencive stability first the 3-5-2 is the answer. But if it is about the attack then 3-4-3 is better. Also a big question will be Giroud. Whether he starts or not ahead of Morata. In the last few matches he and hazard have synced well and a 3-5-2 will definitely be better if Giroud plays. While a 3-4-3 is great as well with Morata in it. I expect it to be 3-4-3 tho.

Hope you liked the Chelsea vs Barcelona Match Preview. I will be posting more match previews like the Chelsea vs Barcelona Match Preview. 

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Click on the link below to find out my predictions for the tie.

Chelsea vs Barcelona round of 16 prediction

Visit Footballbuzz to find out the score predictions of  Round of 16.