Chelsea vs Barcelona Predictions

• Chelsea have won four of their last five home games
• Barcelona have lost two and drawn one of their last four away matches
• Chelsea have lost only one of their previous seven matches at home against Barcelona, winning four

Blues and Blaugrana eye Euro standings boost

Chelsea host Barcelona in clash of two clubs that sit just outside the top-eight of the Champions League standings at the half-way mark in the League phase. Both teams dropped points on matchday four to fall away from the leading pack with Chelsea held to a 2-2 draw in Azerbaijan by Qarabag while Barcelona battled back from three deficits to draw at Club Brugge.

They both come into this clash on the back of solid domestic wins with the Blues having beaten Burnley 2-0 on Saturday lunchtime and the Blaugrana battering Athletic Bilbao 4-0 in their first game back at Spotify Camp Nou.

The scoreline does not tell the full story of that game, however, as Ernesto Valverde’s side had a couple of great chances to equalise in the first half and were undone by some poor discipline and poor goalkeeping on the day.

Returning duo bolster Flick’s hand

Hansi Flick’s side can be a nightmare to play against when they are all on the same page and firing, but they have missed some creativity on the left from Raphinha and spark in the middle from Pedri.

The Brazilian made his comeback on Saturday as Marcus Rashford missed out through illness and it looks like Pedri may have recovered from a muscle tear in his left thigh in time for the trip to Stamford Bridge.

Their returns make this a tricky game to call because they bring a lot of quality, otherwise the scales had probably tipped Chelsea’s way. Enzo Maresca’s side are on a roll at home with four wins in their last five, including two Champions League wins over Ajax and Benfica plus a big Premier League victory against Liverpool.

Maresca can bring in reinforcements

The Italian coach was able to rest a few key players on Saturday after the international break and should bring Moises Caicedo, Alejandro Garnacho and Estevao back into the Blues’ starting XI. Garnacho has started to prove himself in recent weeks while Caicedo and Estevao have been operating at a very high level since the start of the campaign.

If Robert Sanchez and the central defensive axis stay solid, Chelsea have a great chance of maintaining their excellent home record against Barca. Any visit from the Catalan club, who had some ding-dong battles with Chelsea in the Jose Mourinho era, is a big occasion and one that you would expect Chelsea’s Spanish and South American stars to relish.

Barca beat Newcastle at St James’ Park earlier this season with Rashford to the fore and the ex-Manchester United star has a good scoring record against Chelsea, so it will be interesting to see if he starts. But whether he does or not, Chelsea are the pick here because of their solid home form, extra freshness and physicality in midfield.