CHELSEA v BARCELONA
Tuesday 20th February 2018 – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Football – Europe – Champions League Betting Tips
Chelsea kept their options open for some sort of silverware on the weekend when they beat Championship strugglers, Hull City, 4-0 at Stamford Bridge in the fifth round of the FA Cup, and although they hold home advantage again in this first leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League, they face a tough challenge.
On the domestic front, fourth placed Chelsea are embroiled with London rivals, Tottenham, in a two-horse race for fourth spot in the Premier League, which earns another Champions League campaign next season. However, the strains of repeating last season’s title winning form are starting to show, and The Blues have produced some ordinary displays by their standards of late.
Recent defeats to Bournemouth and Watford were heavy losses, and although they turned things around with a 3-0 win over West Brom last time out in the Premier League, they’ll be up against it this evening when Barcelona come to town.
Onto Barcelona, and you get the feeling that the Catalan outfit have something of a point to prove following last season’s runners-up finish to arch-rivals, Real Madrid in La Liga, as well as a disappointing exit to Juventus in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
To further add salt to their wounds, Real Madrid also lifted the Champions League crown which would have cut like a knife for Barca’s players and fans alike, and perhaps now we’re seeing Barcelona’s back-lash as they topped this season’s Group D without defeat, and now sit top of La Liga with a seven point cushion over second placed Atletico Madrid, and a massive 17 points over Real Madrid.
Recently, we’ve seen a few chinks in Chelsea’s armour at the back, and with the likes of Suarez and Messi up front for the visitors eager to pounce, Chelsea will have to be at their best to get a result of any sort here.
Pick: Barcelona AH0 @ 1.60 Bet Victor
