Messi the difference – Nicholas
CHELSEA don’t have much hope of beating Barcelona in the Nou Camp, which in part is because of Lionel Messi.
Those are the thoughts of Sky Sports pundit Charlie Nicholas.
Messi broke his duck against Chelsea in the Champions League when the two sides met at Stamford Bridge last month.
He missed the 2-0 La Liga win away to Malaga on Saturday after flying home to be at the birth of his third child.
Nicholas doesn’t think that the Blues stand much of a chance with a firing Messi on the other side.
Added to that, the Scot insists the west London outfit could be in for a long evening if they replicate the tactics Antonio Conte deployed against Manchester City at the Etihad where they lost 1-0.
“If Conte plays the same way as he did at Manchester City, which I think he might, they will have no joy because they’ll fail to get out of their own half again,” Nicholas told Sky Sports.
“Barcelona have improved defensively but you can still get at them because of their attacking intent.
“I think if they’ve got Alvaro Morata or Giroud up top then at least they’ll be able to hold the ball up on a few occasions and give Hazard the chance of getting the ball in areas he can do damage.
“However, I can see him having another frustrating evening, knowing he’s not got the supply or support to show his potential, and will be left day dreaming of playing against Barca for Real Madrid next season.
“Lionel [Messi] had a nice rest at the weekend to be ready for this one, so I don’t give Chelsea much hope at all.”
Chelsea warmed up for the clash with a 2-1 win at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The tie is delicately balanced after a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
With the chance to complete a treble this term under Ernesto Valverde, the Catalan giants are likely to be unrelenting on all fronts.
Conte’s pedigree in Europe’s elite competition doesn’t stand out, however he thinks the west London outfit lack the characteristics that his former club Juventus showed when they knocked out Tottenham last week at Wembley.
He said: “Many players that won the Champions League are in that Juventus team.
“We don’t have this. We don’t have this experience and you have to build this experience in the next years.
“For sure, Juventus showed great resilience, they suffered a lot and, in the right mind, they killed Tottenham.
“When you play in the Champi- ons League or FA Cup, experience is very important. This team has not got many players with great experience.
“We have lost a lot of old players with great experience. Now, we have many players who need it – Andreas Christensen, Tiemoue Bakayoko.
“We have a lot of players playing for the first or second time a Champions League game. We have to work as a team and try to be ready.” – Daily Star