Pictures from FC Barcelona's Training Session at Stamford Bridge

The Winner Takes It All; Chelsea vs Barca UCL Semi-Final Preview

Pep Guardiola has named all the available players in the squad which will travel to London. Carles Puyol, who is suspended for the leg will also travel with the squad. The squad announced are Valdés, Jorquera, Pinto, Alves, Víctor Sánchez, Piqué, Cáceres, Abidal, Sylvinho, Touré Yaya, Keita, Busquets, Gudjohnsen, Xavi, Iniesta, Hleb, Bojan, Henry, Eto'o, Messi and Pedro. The first team players missing are MIlito and Marquez both sidelined with injury. The team trained on monday evening at the Ciudad Deportiva at Sant Joan Despí. It's been confirmed that Thierry Henry missed that practice session and istead did some specific recovery work. The last time when we visited Stamford Bridge, a solitary goal from Drogba handed us a group stage defeat. The last three knock-out stage meeting between these two teams ended with the side which played the second game at home going through. So Barca has to overturn those results to go through.

Barca was a bit low in confidence preparing for the first leg, courtesy of a 2-2 draw at Mestalla. But a 2-6 thrashing of current La LIga champions at Bernebeu would have put them in the right set of mind to take on Chelsea. Chelsea surprised everyone with an ultra-defensive formation at Camp Nou. But in the weekend they faced a Fulham side with Drogba pairing with Anelka and Malouda. But it is better not to go by that line-up, as we will see once more an ultra defensive Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The absence of a regular centre back at FC Barcelona could be the only reason which will open up Chelsea a bit from the begining. But I believe they will try to remain solid in defense in the first half and would look to open up a bit after half time. All the questions regarding the line-up will centre on how Guardiola is going to line-up his defense. I will prefer him moving Abidal to centre and have Caceres as Left-Back. Pique and Alves should retain their usual position. The inclusion of Caceres ahead of Sylvinho will give a bit more height to the defense. The midfield which is the most crucial part for Barca must be made up of Xavi, Iniesta and Toure. Eto and Messi should pair ideally with Henry or if he can't make the cut, I would seriously consider putting Pedro there. Pedro can instill some serious pace in there which we lacked in the last leg. Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo will take charge of the match at Stamford Bridge and let's hope he do well. For all the Barca fans he was the one who officiated in the 5-2 drubbing of Lyon at Camp Nou. He will be assited by countrymen Geir Åge Holen and Dag-Roger Nebben; Brage Sandmoen will be the fourth official. This is going to be one hell of a test for this great Barca side, but I have full belief on them and predict them coming on top of Chelsea by a margin of 1-2. But the key will be not to concede cheap goals and that will surely force Chelsea to open up.

Uncertainity about Henry's Participation in Stamford Bridge

Sport.es has reported a possibility of Thierry Henry missing the game at Stamford Bridge due to a slight knee trouble. Initially Sport.es has reported that Henry was ruled out of the squad. But FC Barcelona looked like have denied any such move and confirmed that Henry will definitely be in the travelling party. According to Sport, Henry will undergo a training at Chelsea and any decision will be taken after that. There was no official communication regarding all these in FC Barcelona's official website, hence we can't confirm the authenticity of any of these claims. With Puyol already injured , the last thing Pep Guardiola want is an injury to the French International. Thierry Henry was kept quiet in the first leg against Chelsea but was in top form against Real Madrid.

The possibility of Henry missing the tie against Chelsea could pose much problems for Guardiola. Iniesta has done very well in that position and the normal logic would be to bring in Keita in to midfield and move Iniesta forward. This will also add a defensive cover to the formation and hence will be good for a team which will be missing Puyol. But there are enough troubles for Guardiola in doing the same - an absence of Iniesta in the midfield will create trouble for Xavi. It becomes easy for Chelsea midfield to double mark Xavi out of the match. Keita's presence will also means that there will not be any pace available from midfield, many pundits have attributed the lack of pace for Barca's poor performance in first leg. The best news for Barca will be to see Henry fit for the match. But if that does not happen, it is always better to play Bojan in that position rather than move Iniesta up front. We will be having a very inexperienced Central Defense for this match and that makes it essesntial that our midfield dominates the possession completely.