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Preview: Chelsea vs. Barcelona

Preview: Chelsea vs. Barcelona
© PA Photos
Chelsea will have to stop 61-goal Lionel Messi if they are to knock Barcelona out of the Champions League. Here, Sports Mole previews their chances of causing an upset against the reigning champions.

Many bookmakers have rated Barcelona as 1/5 favourites to knock Chelsea out of the Champions League and advance through to May's final with relative ease.

Barca have history in their favour, having won three out of their last four meetings with the Blues.

However, they may have to take to the field at Stamford Bridge without the services of midfielder Xavi, who is reportedly struggling with a muscular complaint.

Centre-back Gerard Pique is also thought to be rated as 50/50 with a thigh problem.

Chelsea also have injury concerns of their own, mainly over defender David Luiz. Should the Brazilian fail to recover from a leg injury, then Gary Cahill is expected to play alongside captain John Terry.

The English defensive duo will face Lionel Messi, who has 61 goals in all competitions this season.

Perhaps equally as worrying for the home side is the fact that they have lost their last three semi-finals against Spanish opposition in UEFA competitions.

Current form:

Chelsea: LDWWDW
Barcelona: DWWWWW

Possible lineups:

Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill, Cole; Essien, Ramires, Lampard; Mata, Drogba, Kalou

Barcelona: Valdes; Alves, Puyol, Mascherano, Adriano; Busquets, Iniesta, Fabregas; Sanchez, Pedro, Messi

Sports Mole says: 1-2

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Euro 2024 fixtures header
Saturday, July 6
 
5pm
 
8pm
Tuesday, July 9
 
8pm
Semi-Finals
Spain
vs.
France
Wednesday, July 10
Sunday, July 14
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


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