Chelsea - Barcelona UEFA - Champions League Prediction

Chelsea - Barcelona
06.05 20:45
Chelsea held Barcelona to the goalless draw at Camp Nou but the Blues face another difficult job against the high-flying Catalans. Barcelona enter the match on the back of the impressive 6:2 win over Real Madrid and they are still favourites to go through.
The job is half done
Ever since Roman Abramovich took over the reigns at Chelsea, the team managed to cope with the strongest teams in England but they struggled to match the best clubs in Europe and are still chasing for the first Champions League title. The Blues were very close to the highly anticipated trophy last season but Terry slipped up when taking the decisive penalty, which resulted in United winning the title. The Blues were not given big chances this season but they have shown significant improvement under Guus Hiddink and the first match at Camp Nou showed this. Chelsea managed to hold the Catalans to a goalless draw, which was a big success but they will have to produce another remarkable performance in order to qualify for the final. Chelsea have been doing well lately but we don’t think that they can stop Barca for the second time in seven days. They are likely to lose the midfield battle to Xavi, Iniesta and Toure, and the back line together with Cech would have to be at their very best in order to stop Barca from scoring. Hiddink faces some selection problems, as Deco and Carvalho are out with injuries, whereas Alex remains a big injury doubt. The hosts are likely to adopt attacking approach, which will probably make Barca’s job even easier as the Catalans are ruthless when afforded space.
Barcelona hammered Real
Barcelona have ensured another Primera title having beaten Real Madrid 6:2 at Santiago Bernabeu and they can now fully focus on the Champions League, where they are considered hot favourites for the trophy. Sep Guardiola’s team missed a chance to create an advantage before the return leg as they failed to unlock Chelsea defence in the first match but they remain the favourites to go through as the team have been in remarkable form throughout the season. The comprehensive win over their fierce rivals showed that the game against Chelsea had been just a bad day and we expect them to play much better at Stamford Bridge. It seems that Theirry Henry will be able to shake off minor injury and he is likely to form a three-man attack together with Messi and Eto’o, whereas Guardiola will not make any changes in the middle of the park. The boss faces some problems in defence as captain Puyol is suspended, while Marquez is out with injury, thus Caceres could partner Pique in the heart of defence. Abidal is also another option for the centre-back position, in which case Silvinho would start at left-back. Anyhow, Barcelona have to be considered favourites here even though the game will be played in London.
Betting verdict
Chelsea have got a good result from the first leg but they will have problems stopping Barcelona from scoring, especially without Carvalho and possibly Alex. Barca will definitely play much better than in the first leg and we expect them to win this game.
Tip: Barcelona, Odds 2.6;