Barcelona-Chelsea: Champions League Preview

Barcelona v Chelsea

Tuesday 28 April 2009,

Camp Nou

Kickoff: 19:45

Barcelona

Barcelona drew 1-1 with Bayern Munich on the road in their last Champions League match to win the fixture 5-1 on aggregate.

On the road to the semifinals, Barcelona have won six, drawn three and lost one, scoring 29 goals and conceding 12 in these matches.

Barcelona will welcome back defender Rafa Marquez from suspension, but will be without Gabriel Milito due to injury.

Chelsea

Chelsea drew 4-4 at home with Liverpool in their last Champions League match, winning the fixture 7-5 on aggregate.

In their Champions League campaign so far this season, Chelsea have won five, drawn four and lost one, scoring 19 goals and conceding 12 in these matches.

Chelsea have John Terry back from suspension but Ricardo Carvalho and Deco are likely to miss the game with injuries.

Chelsea will also be without Ashley Cole due to suspension.

Prediction

After their convincing quarterfinals result over Bayern Munich—and with Man Utd's form floundering—La Liga leaders Barcelona are now the team to beat in this season's Champions League. They are also odds-on favourites to take their domestic title, with the Spanish giants four points clear of second place Real Madrid.

Chelsea, on the other hand, are now 100/1 outsiders to win the Premier League, sitting third and trailing leaders Man Utd by six points. In spite of this, the Blues are into the final of the FA Cup after an impressive victory over fellow Champions League semifinalists Arsenal.

Barcelona's form is certainly the superior of the two sides, and their home record is also impressive, losing only once domestically and once in the Champions League all season. This is in contrast to the Blues' away record in the tournament so far, with Chelsea posting only one win on the road, drawing three times and losing once.

The world-class Barcelona attack consisting of the likes of Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto'o, and current tournament leading goalscorer Lionel Messi look set to prove too much for Chelsea to handle, and Barcelona will enter the first leg of this fixture as relatively strong favourites to win.

Read the complete preview with the best online betting odds for the match at the Barcelona vs Chelsea odds and preview page now!

Then read our Manchester United vs Arsenal preview for the second semi-final at Sports Betting Review.