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Barcelona's Thierry Henry (L) celebrates with team mate Samuel Eto'o - Source: Reuters -
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Who: Barcelona v Chelsea
Where: Nou Camp, Barcelona
Kick off: 6:45am (NZT)
In arguably the biggest clash of the Champions League thus far, the strong get set to take on the sublime in the hopes of making it all the way to Rome for the 2009 Champions League final.
Apparently Chelsea have already beaten Barca twice under Guss Hiddink, well, in his brain anyway, as the Dutchman's obsessive tactical preparations include him playing out the entire game in his mind.
"In my head, I have never lost a game in preparation" the Chelsea boss told reporters, but it is obvious that Barcelona, currently one of the best teams not only in Europe, but arguably the world, pose a very different prospect.
One of the main problems for Chelsea as they take on Barca in the magnificent Camp Nou on Wednesday will be reining in the goalscoring prowess of Lionel Messi, who is currently the tournament's top goalscorer after netting eight in nine matches, while Henry (six) and Eto'o (five) are not too far behind.
With nineteen goals in total, and a La Liga title all but in the bag, this is a golden Barcelona side to rival even John Cruyff's 'Dream Team' who won the European Cup in 1992 off the back of four successive national titles.
And it is goalscoring maestro Messi who Hiddink and Chelsea will fear the most in the hopes of lifting the elusive Champions League trophy come the end of May.
There may be some hope for Chelsea though, as one interesting statistic states that although Messi has faced English sides eight times in this competition - he has failed to score a single goal.
Of course, that was before the 21-year-old Argentinean was allowed free rein on the left as a crucial part of Barca's three man attacking threat, where his speed, agility and focus has brought him to the attention of pundits, critics and football fans all over the world.
With Ashley Cole out of the clash due to suspension, and Ricardo Carvalho out injured, this will be a defensively weakened Chelsea and stopping Messi will fall on the shoulders of Jose Bosingwa.
Even though Hiddink is 'confident' that Bosingwa can contain Messi, the fact that the Portugal international is not quite match fit after recently returning from injury (his thigh problem was still evident in Chelsea's 1-0 win over West Ham at the weekend) and will be playing out of position on the left, doesn't bode well for a team who will be trying to contain a striker who Hiddink has called "one of the best in the world."
One thing Chelsea do have in their favour though is versatile midfielder Michael Essien, who some believe is the Blues' most influential player, and has been in inspirational form since his return from injury against Juventus in the last sixteen tie in Turin.
It was Essien who successfully contained Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard in their quarter-final clash at Anfield that helped give the London side a big enough lead away from home to reach the semi-finals for the third consecutive season.
Striker Dider Drogba is also in the form of his life. After stalling under Scolari the African is flourishing under Guss Hiddink, and can never be discounted to step up when it counts.
But, as so often happens with Chelsea, it may fall to Frank Lampard to save face for the visitors.
Lampard was fantastic against Liverpool in their tantalising 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge, and will no doubt have his hands full with Xavi, Iniesta and even Messi, depending on how Bosingwa copes.
Barcelona, favoured by the bookies to lift the Champions League trophy, may play pretty, exciting, fast paced, attacking football, but it is Chelsea's strong, physical approach that will work to their advantage.
What Chelsea must do to have any hope of moving on in this tournament is to take the game from the first whistle - focus and drive will be key for the Londoners.
Stifling Barcelona's flowing passing in the midfield will also help their cause and I wouldn't put it past Chelsea to cause a major upset in this clash.
Barcelona v Chelsea: Big match stats
This is the fifth meeting for Barcelona and Chelsea in the
Champions League
Chelsea progressed twice, in the 04/05 and 06/07 season.
Barcelona beat Chelsea 5-1 after extra time in the 1999/2000
quarter-final after losing 3-1 in London.
Barcelona have won four of their six home clashes against Chelsea
and drawn two.
Champions League 2009: Who will prevail? Have your say on the
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