Chelsea 2017/2018

Great result for Chelsea against Barca but I cant see them getting a sniff at the Nou Camp, look what happened to PSG, like to see Chelsea progress so we can play em in the QF, its not going to happen though unfortunately..!
 
Vialli98 said:
That's fair, though I think a stray pass in front of our own box resulting in a Messi goal is more of a blatant error, but it's nothing more than semantics.

How do you think the 2nd leg will pan out? I think our speedy forwards put a little fear into Barca. Valverde would be stupid to go with a similar line up and approach. I think the bigger pitch in Barcelona will pose big problems for both teams, lots and lots of space for us to counter-attack you into oblivion, but also lots and lots of ground to cover without the ball for us when Barcelona are circulating possession.
Click to expand...

We'll see over the next couple of weeks and whether the plan has been always been to target Dembele's inclusion for the return. He hasn't played in 3 straight matches since the Getafe cameo.

Playing at Camp Nou, however, Barcelona are a very different animal. I expect them to win but I usually expect this. I am just curious to see what Valverde's larger plan is in the context of the CL because they can't really continue to rely on a tepid 4-4-2 as the competition goes on. The key is Dembélé, IMHO. He can provide the width and space to open things up for both Messi & Suarez. Semedo will likely play in the return leg which should free things up even more. I want to see this:

Ter stegen
Semedo, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba
Roberto, Busquets, Iniesta
Dembélé, Messi & Suaréz​

There is also a concern with Piqué as he is clearly hobbled and needs to rest so we'll see how that plays out as well
 
FCBarca said:
We'll see over the next couple of weeks and whether the plan has been always been to target Dembele's inclusion for the return. He hasn't played in 3 straight matches since the Getafe cameo.

Playing at Camp Nou, however, Barcelona are a very different animal. I expect them to win but I usually expect this. I am just curious to see what Valverde's larger plan is in the context of the CL because they can't really continue to rely on a tepid 4-4-2 as the competition goes on. The key is Dembélé, IMHO. He can provide the width and space to open things up for both Messi & Suarez. Semedo will likely play in the return leg which should free things up even more. I want to see this:

Ter stegen
Semedo, Piqué, Umtiti, Alba
Roberto, Busquets, Iniesta
Dembélé, Messi & Suaréz​

There is also a concern with Piqué as he is clearly hobbled and needs to rest so we'll see how that plays out as well
Click to expand...

I think if Conte picks a team even more speedy and agile than the team that played the first game, we could be in for some game in 3 weeks. If Luiz played in midfield alongside Kante and Fabregas, with just Willian and Hazard up front, so essentially a 352 with no actual striker, and then Emerson in for Alonso. Or leave Fabregas on the bench, and start Morata, so 343 with Emerson, Kante, Luiz, Moses in midfield and Hazard, Morata, Willian up front. I think either one of those could trouble Barca.

If Valverde goes with 442 again, and Conte does anything resembling the above, I think we have more than a good chance to overcome the odds and get through the tie.
 
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