Time to Focus on Barca the Preview

Tomorrow night Chelsea travel to the Nou Camp to take on arguably the best club side in the world at the moment in the Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg. This is another massive game for Chelsea and you have to say this is the biggest game of our season so far.

Chelsea come into the game after a 1-0 win against West Ham on Saturday with a weakened side at Upton Park and Barcelona come into the game after a 2-2 draw at Valencia (They were 2-1 down with 10 mins to go!)

This is the biggest test for Chelsea this season and the World will be watching. One thing is for sure we need to be up for it from the start to finish tomorrow night and can't afford to let anything slip if we are to progress to the Final. Of course as usual i can see some key battles tomorrow that will have a major effect on the game but they are all over the pitch in this one. So let's focus on all 11 players:

Chelsea's back four v Barcelona's front three.

I fully expect Chelsea to line up from right to left as Ivanovic, Alex, Terry & Bosingwa tomorrow night up against from right to left Henry, Eto'o & Messi. This is going to be a difficult night for our boys so we have to make sure we are alert and on the ball from the off. I am quite happy with Ivanovic up against Henry. We all know Henry likes to cut inside from the left wing and his pace is a danger but i am confident with Ivanovic and his pace he has to burn. Also the danger of Henry cutting in from the left will be dealt with as its more than likely he will be faced with Alex if he does come inside.

Eto'o up against John Terry and Alex is ok as far as i am concerned. I think the two of them can marshall him quite well but it will be upto Essien to stop the ball being played between them two for Eto'o as his pace will be the main threat in the game. Eto'o is another of the "whingers" in the game. If he doesn't get alot of the ball his head will drop and he will start to complain at his players. Let's hope this is the case tomorrow night.

The main concern i have is Bosingwa against Messi. Now i think all true Chelsea Fans will be well aware that although Bosingwa is good getting forward from the back, defensively he is a worry and not the strongest defender. Its important that Bosingwa bullies him early, closes him down asap and let's him know he is there. If Messi gets in the game early his confidence will grow and he will become a major player in the first leg.

Chelsea's midfield three v Barcelona's midfield three.

I predict Chelsea's three in midfield will be in a triangle formation with Lampard at the focal point behind Drogba. So it will be Essien next to Ballack and Lampard in front of them. They will be up against the defensive minded Yaya Toure, and Xavi and Iniesta playing in front of him.

I think this is where we will win or bust against Barcelona over two legs. I watch Spanish football now and again and i do not see any side with the midfield strength and power Chelsea have in Lampard, Ballack and most importantly of all Essien. I am happy with Ballack and Essien up against Inesta and Xavi. As long as they win their tackles, shut them down and make their physical presence felt early i think we can cope with these two. They are lightweight and skip past midfielders in the Premiera in Spain but against Ballack and Essien its going to be alot different. If Ballack and Essien get amongst them, and get ontop of these two early then we can push Barcelona onto the back foot.

Lampard up against Yaya Toure is a no brainer for me. Lampard is playing much more advanced these days under Guus Hiddink and will be much more of a goal threat than Xavi and Iniesta put together. Mark my words Barcelona are just as worried about Lampard as they are Drogba. There is no doubt Frank will be up for this game as he always is and if he gets on the ball early and finds his time and space between the midfield and defence of Barca then he will have a field day. Its upto Toure to negate him and his possession and i just think at this moment in time Frank is far superior in their battle tomorrow night.

Chelsea's front three v Barcelona's back four.

I also predict Chelsea will line up from right to left with Anelka, Drogba, Malouda up against from right to left Dani Alves, Puyol, Pique & Abidal. Malouda up against Dani Alves is another one. Is Alves as good defending as he is getting forward? I don't think so. Malouda has been inspired lately and if he can put him on the back foot like he did against Liverpool in the first leg this will be good for Chelsea. Barcelona will be forced back and Chelsea will dominate possession.

The same can be said for Anelka up against Abidal. They both are French team mates and will know each others game well but i don't see Abidal posing the same threat down the wing as Dani Alves and I see this playing right into Anelka's hands. Granted i have said recently that Anelka is wasted on the wing and doesn't look comfortable playing there, but he has a nack of popping up with a telling cross for Drogba in the big games and let's hope its the same tomorrow night.

Drogba v Puyol & Pique. Didier on form will scare the life out of anyone on his day and these two will be no different. Pique couldn't make the Man United squad and has walked straight into the Barcelona team which tells you something. In the last rounds he was up against a different kind of forward in Luca Toni who is a different player to Drogba. I haven't see Pique being tested yet and tomorrow he will face the biggest of his life in Drogba. Puyol will play as the sweeper and Pique the marker. I can see Didier causing Pique all sorts of problems which will see Puyol play closer to him and this where the gaps will open up in their defence.

Barcelona's defence is suspect and they aren't the tallest side in the world. We need to put them under pressure asap in the game and make sure we make our set plays count tomorrow night. Against Valencia at the weekend Valdes came out for a corner and flapped at the ball and missed it totally. We need to expose his weakness.

If there is one side that can go to Barcelona tomorrow night and win its the Blue Boys!
COME ON THE CHELS!






Here is a video (with no sound of the last game Chelsea played at the Nou Camp a 2-2 draw. Who can forget it !

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