This game evokes special memories of the Champions League semi-final played at Stamford Bridge on May 6, 2009.
The debate surrounding referee on the night, Tom Henning Ovrebo, will rage on, and even the official himself noted this past weekend that he’s not proud of his performance in that game.
Regardless, Andres Iniesta’s injury-time exocet remains one of the competition’s most iconic moments.
Chelsea had their revenge a few years later of course, but the wound is still open. Nothing would give Antonio Conte’s side greater pleasure than dumping Barcelona out of a competition they’ve yet to lose in, in 2017/18.
For now, talk of an unprecedented ‘treble treble’ still exists.
Tuesday night’s encounter will need to go some way to match the drama of that balmy night nine years ago, but a fascinating duel can still be expected.
In Eden Hazard and Lionel Messi, both teams possess a truly world-class exponent, and it would surprise no one if either were to write the following morning’s headlines.
The Argentinian has been there and done it on multiple occasions at the highest level, whereas the Belgian can cement his own legacy further with a strong 90 minutes here.
Chelsea haven’t been at the level they were last season for the most part, but a good result over the two legs will gloss over any perceived weaknesses and defer talk of Conte’s future for a while.
The arrival of the Blaugrana is bound to set pulses racing and the hosts will dig deep to give an extra 10 percent. In Pedro and Cesc Fabregas, they also have two former Barca players who’ll be keen to get one over on their old club too.
Alvaro Morata will return from injury and will be keen to score against the Blaugrana, as he did in the 2015 final for Juventus.
Samuel Umtiti and Gerard Pique have been dominant aerially and so if Chelsea are going to get any change out of one of Europe’s best defences this season, they’ll need to look to play balls in behind what is sometimes a laboured pairing. It’s here where Pedro will be a huge asset with his pace.
At the opposite end Messi and Luis Suarez have been lethal, but to concentrate solely on Barca’s front two would be a mistake by Chelsea. Both Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto will provide the width and work rate that the Catalans thrive on, so much of the dirty work will need to be carried out by the likes of Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta.
David Zappacosta and Victor Moses can also limit the amount of times Barcelona can get into a position where they can overlap, whilst N’Golo Kante and Cesc Fabregas will have their hands full with a marauding Paulinho and incisive Ivan Rakitic.
Barca need to score of course, in order to take something back to the Camp Nou and hand them the advantage for the second leg. So, perhaps Conte’s biggest conundrum is whether he plays the more experienced Gary Cahill at the centre of a back three, or in-form Andreas Christensen.
Buckle up, this is going to be a hell of a ride!
