Chelsea vs Barcelona: The 3 Key Battles

Chelsea vs Barcelona has its fair share of history. When one thinks of this contest, Torres' 90th-minute goal springs to the mind. If Barcelona do share a rivalry with any English Club, it's Chelsea.

But this Chelsea team is full of completely different players, except for Cahill, when compared to the team that faced Barcelona in 2012. Also, 2 players who played for Barcelona in that tie: Fabregas and Pedro, now gear up to play against them in Chelsea's blue.

On paper, Barcelona are favourites. They are on top of the La Liga and have been playing great football consistently this season. On the other hand, Chelsea are a shadow of the team that won the Premier League title last season.

Though there will be great contests all over the pitch and these 3 battles can make or break the match for both teams.

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#1 Lionel Messi vs Marcus Alonso (and Chelsea's defence)

Can Messi finally break his goal drought vs Chelsea?

If there is or ever was a Messi's bogey team, it's Chelsea. The 5 times Ballon d'Or winner has faced the London side 8 times. Despite accumulating 29 shots in those matches, he hasn't been able to find the back of the net.

Luckily for him, Petr Cech, the man who had frustrated him, again and again, is not with Chelsea anymore. But at the same time, Courtois has proved multiple times that he is the right man to take over the mantle.

Messi will start the game centrally, but drift wide towards the right time and again. Thus it will be Alonso's responsibility to stop him. Alonso is renowned for his attacking prowess but tends to struggle against skilful attackers. Thus it can be a long evening for the Spaniard against arguably the world's greatest player.

Messi doesn't have a great track record against Chelsea. Hence, it will be Alonso and co's responsibility to keep out the great Argentine.

#2 Cesc Fabregas vs Barcelona's Mid

Fabregas has more to prove in this tie than any other player

Fabregas will most likely start for Chelsea today. Still, he possesses more of the Barcelona DNA than many current Barca midfielders. As good as Fabregas is in creating chances and controlling the game, he is limited by his slow pace and mediocre tackling.

Barcelona are renowned for controlling the game thanks to their strong midfield. N'Golo Kante will have his hands full and will have the task of keeping most of their runners at bay. But Kante tends to struggle against the teams who play quick passes through the midfield.

Thus he will need all the support he can get from Fabregas. It will be a busy evening for the Chelsea midfielders and hopefully, for Chelsea, Fabregas will have his defensive shoes on.

#3 Barcelona vs Chelsea's Formation

Conte's Chelsea can confuse and frustrate Barcelona

Playing three at the back was rarely ever used in the Premier League till the last season. Enter Antonio Conte. The Italian switched to 3 at the back and suddenly the new look Chelsea took the whole league by storm.

Every team struggled to control their new formation. Such was the success of the formation that nearly every team in the league experimented with the formation sometime during the last season. The change in the formation turned Chelsea's fate around completely.

Barcelona are not used to playing against either 3-4-3 or 3-5-2. However, with the technological advancements in the modern game, Barcelona would have studied Chelsea's system thoroughly. Yet as we have learned in the last one and a half seasons, it's not easy to contain Chelsea's formation the first time you play them, at least not from the kickoff.

Chelsea's formation can cause confusion to Barcelona players in the beginning. If not careful, Barcelona can easily find them a goal behind in the beginning.

It is expected to be a great contest and hopefully both the teams can live up to the expectations.