Chelsea V Barcelona Champions League betting preview

Chelsea V Barcelona – Wednesday 19:45 Sky Sports 1

In what looks possibly the tie of the whole competition, an unstoppable Barcelona head to England tomorrow night in a bid to halt the Chelsea express at Stamford Bridge. Guss Hiddink has already got the better of Pepe Guardiola when the pair clashed at The Nou Camp last Tuesday with Chelsea nullifying the Barcelona attack, but with the tie evenly poised at 0-0, both sides will feel they have a stunning chance of making the final in Rome and we think this match really could go either way although Chelsea’s price does look massively over priced. We shall see who was right. Us or the bookies.

It may not have been pretty but Guus Hiddink knew exactly what he was doing at The Nou Camp last week. Everyone was touting Barcelona as the best team in Europe with many punters expecting Barcelona to run riot in front of their home fans. That wasn’t the case though, far from it. Hiddink’s tactics were spot-on, in fact, close to perfection with only Didier Drogba’s lacklustre finishing letting the Dutch manager down. It wasn’t the finest performance you will see from a Chelsea side which has had several hundred million spent on it but nevertheless, Chelsea and Hiddink got the result they set out for. A 0-0 draw in Spain now leaves this tie perfectly balanced with neither side really being touted as favourites to progress, according to the bookies.
         Although the odds do suggest that both sides have every chance of making it through, i cannot believe for one second that the bookies really expect Barcelona to go to Chelsea and turn them over. Yes, Barcelona do come into this game off the back of a 6-2 mauling of Real Madrid but they seriously under-estimated Chelsea at The Nou Camp and we expect Chelsea to punish them severely at Stamford Bridge. A venue where Chelsea have lost just twice in well over 100 games. A stadium where Chelsea have won seven of their previous nine matches in the league and the odds for both sides are simply crazy despite this looking a tricky tie for Chelsea. Chelsea’s odds are far too generous to turn down, especially when you take into consideration that Chelsea are more then capable of beating anyone on their day. 

It comes as no surprise that many are fancying Barcelona’s chances of progressing but we can’t help but think that maybe a few are getting too carried away. Of course, Barcelona deserve to be where they are today. A place in the Semi-Final of Europe’s greatest club competition and seven points clear in La Liga but their only real test thus far came last Tuesday when they met none other then Chelsea, and how did that end? Answer – In Chelsea’s favour, that’s how.
         Last Tuesday, Chelsea proved that with discipline and an ounce of stubbornness, you can stop the worlds greatest attack. Barcelona simply had no answers to Chelsea’s barrage of valiant defenders. However, our biggest criticism of Barcelona was their ability to create chances. They pass the ball around too much and allowed Chelsea to regroup time and time again. Their biggest downfall if their constant pursuit to score the ‘perfect’ goal. Against physical sides like Chelsea, you will always struggle playing in that mindset and Barcelona came a cropper, just as i expect they will do once more tomorrow.

We think this match will be a much better spectacle then the one back in Spain. Chelsea got the job done in Barcelona but I’m confident Hiddink will set his side up to hound the Barcelona goal right from the off. The fact that Chelsea will play a more open game tomorrow will actually play into Barcelona’s hands and i can see the side from Spain scoring but i can also see Chelsea tearing through an unstable Barcelona rearguard on more then one occasion. Should be a great game of football and one which should go the way of the home side.

Match Odds –
Chelsea 7/4 Bet365     
Draw 12/5 BoyleSports    
Barcelona 17/10 WilliamHill

Prediction – Chelsea