All Leagues, EPL, England, Europe, Features, Ian John, La Liga, Leagues, Regions POSTS

Champions League Semi Final 2nd Leg Preview : Chelsea V Barcelona

Published by Ian John on May 6, 2009

Who will join Manchester United in Rome on May 27th? Tonight the second of the Champions League Semi Final second legs takes place at Stamford Bridge, just a few miles from the scene of last night’s comprehensive victory for Manchester United over Arsenal. Chelsea will be hoping to make it a repeat of last years final by defeating Barcelona, while there will be many football purists who will argue that should Barcelona reach the final, it would be a fitting climax to the competition to see, arguably, the best two teams in the world at the moment compete for European football’s elite prize.

This evenings game is delicately poised at 0-0 from the first leg in the Nou Camp, where Chelsea’s defensive tactics came under attack from Andres Iniesta who labelled Chelsea as playing “ugly football”. Barcelona will be buoyed after their sensational 6-2 win at the Bernebeu at the weekend over Real Madrid, a result which virtually guarantees the Catalan giants the league title and will give them plenty of confidence heading into the match.

TEAM NEWS
Barcelona’s biggest injury concern is striker Thierry Henry, whose injured knee could keep him on the substitutes bench this evening. The Frenchman managed to train with his team mates before the game but Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola rates him as “doubtful” for the game. The Barcelona boss has problems in defence with Carlos Puyol suspended and Gabriel Milito and Rafael Marquez both sidelined with lengthy knee injuries. While former Manchester United defender Pique has been impressive of late, scoring his first Barcelona goal in Saturday’s win at the Bernebeu, it will be a tough task for whoever comes in alongside him to negate what will be a much livelier Chelsea attack in the second leg.

For Chelsea, Deco and Ricardo Carvalho will both miss tonight’s game with hamstring problems, although Alex will be fit after a slight groin problem against Fulham. Ashley Cole should return to the starting eleven and will have the unenviable task of dealing with Lionel Messi. It will be interesting to see if Gus Hiddink adopts a more attack minded formation from the 4-5-1 he played in the Nou Camp. If he decides to go with two strikers, Nicolas Anelka could start alongside Drogba.

As with the other semi final, there are key battles all over the pitch which will decide who progresses to the final. Certainly how Chelsea deal with Lionel Messi will be a crucial factor. The little Argentinian has been simply magical at times this season and it is credit to Jose Bosingwa and Chelsea’s tactics that he was almost a passenger in the first leg. Ashley Cole returns to the left back slot to deal with the tricky winger and how the under fire England left back copes with Messi’s unique talents will be a key aspect in deciding the outcome of the game. Another key area will be at the heart of the Barcelona defence. Despite their win in the Bernebeu, Chelsea will have noted the lack of aerial presence in the Barcelona defence at the weekend and with a strong and powerful attack, this could be a real avenue of opportunity for the Londoners. Defensively, Barcelona have looked suspect at times and how their patched up defence copes with Chelsea’s attacking threat, with a passionate Stamford Bridge crowd behind them, will go a long way towards deciding the outcome of the game.

Who will triumph? This game really is too close to call. While my football purist heart would probably enjoy a Barcelona – Manchester United final, my head is telling me that Chelsea will edge it tonight. For all Barcelona’s wonderful attacking talent, I think Chelsea’s greater defensive abilities will be the key factor tonight. The Barcelona defence isn’t the best and I think the power of Chelsea’s attack and the fact they are at home, will ensure that the home side progresses. I don’t think it will be a very high scoring game, unless Barcelona get an early goal, and I could see the home side sneaking it 1-0 or 2-1.

Image Courtesy of **pmc** on Flickr.com

Readers Rating: