Chelsea and Barcelona will aim to return to winning ways in the UEFA Champions League when they meet at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
The 2025/26 UEFA Champions League returns with Matchday 5, with teams aiming to get their campaigns on track. The action on Tuesday starts with two early games before continuing with seven simultaneous matches, including Chelsea vs Barcelona at Stamford Bridge, the marquee fixture of the latest round.
Chelsea and Barcelona are level on points in the UEFA Champions League, with the Blaugrana ahead on goal difference. With teams in the top four pulling away with each round of fixtures, they cannot afford to drop more points. Both sides come into Tuesday’s match on the back of draws in their most recent Champions League outings.
Chelsea and Barcelona also continued their unbeaten runs with convincing victories at the weekend. While Enzo Maresca’s men clinched a 2-0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor, the Catalan giants cruised to a 4-0 triumph on their return to Camp Nou after over two years.
Barcelona came from a goal down to hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw the last time these sides clashed at Stamford Bridge, with Lionel Messi scoring the equaliser. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Chelsea
Enzo Maresca has no new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Chelsea manager will be bereft of the services of five first-team players vs Barcelona on Tuesday.
Cole Palmer is the most notable absentee due to his groin and toe issues. The English international accompanies Levi Colwill (knee), Dario Essugo (hamstring), and Romeo Lavia (thigh) in the treatment room. Additionally, Mykhailo Mudryk remains unavailable due to a suspension after failing a doping test several months ago.
Robert Sanchez will take his usual spot between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Barcelona on Tuesday. The backline will feature Reece James, Tosin Adarabioyo, Wesley Fofana, and Marc Cucurella.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in the double pivot. Joao Pedro will reprise the no. 10 role, with Estevao Willian and Pedro Neto being the two wide attackers. Finally, Liam Delap will lead the line for Chelsea against Barcelona on Tuesday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; James, Adarabioyo, Fofana, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez; Estevao, Pedro, Neto; Delap
Barcelona
Unlike his counterpart in the Chelsea dugout, Hansi Flick has received positive updates on the team news front ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge. The Barcelona manager will be without only three first-team players on Tuesday.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen (back), Gavi (knee), and Pedri (hamstring) are the only players in the treatment room. However, Flick has received good news, as Barcelona and Raphinha are in the travelling squad to take on Chelsea.
Joan Garcia is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Barcelona lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Chelsea on Tuesday. The backline will feature Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, and Alejandro Balde.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Marc Casado and Frenkie de Jong in the double pivot, with Fermin Lopez reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Robert Lewandowski will spearhead the Barcelona attack against Chelsea, with Marcus Rashford and Lamine Yamal being the two wide attackers.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Joan Garcia; Kounde, Eric Garcia, Cubarsi, Balde; Casado, de Jong; Yamal, Lopez, Rashford; Lewandowski
Key Stats
- Chelsea have only lost one of their last nine games vs Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League (W2 D6). However, that lone defeat came in their most recent meeting (0-3 at Camp Nou in March 2018), a result that sent them out of the UEFA Champions League in the round of 16 (lost 1-4 on aggregate). The Catalan giants have only won away to Chelsea on one of eight previous attempts in Europe (D2 L5): a 2-1 victory in February 2006 in the Champions League. Since then, they have played at Stamford Bridge on four occasions without recording a victory (D2 L2).
- Since 2013/14, Barcelona have only lost two of their nine away games against English sides in the UEFA Champions League (W6 D1). Those two defeats came against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in November 2016 (1-3) and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in May 2019 (0-4).
- English teams have won nine of their last ten games against Spanish sides in the UEFA Champions League (L1), with the only exception being Barcelona’s win against Newcastle United in September (2-1). Since that Barcelona win, English clubs have won four successive matches without conceding against Spanish opponents (Arsenal 4-0 Atletico Madrid, Villarreal 0-2 Manchester City, Liverpool 1-0 Real Madrid, Newcastle United 2-0 Athletic Club).
- Barcelona have scored in their last 24 games in the UEFA Champions League (67 goals in total), the longest current run by any team. Hansi Flick has also never seen an opponent keep a clean sheet against one of his teams in the competition (36/36 – 18 with Barcelona and Bayern Munich).
- Marcus Rashford has been directly involved in five goals in four UEFA Champions League games for Barcelona this season (G4, A1). The only player with more than five goal involvements through their first five appearances for the Blaugrana in the competition is Hristo Stoichkov (8: G5, A3 in 1994).
Player to Watch
Estevao Willian
While Marcus Rashford, Lamine Yamal, and Joao Pedro were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Estevao Willian as the Player to Watch for Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League clash between Chelsea and Barcelona at Stamford Bridge.
The Brazilian international is Chelsea’s top scorer in the UEFA Champions League this season (2 goals), scoring in his first two starts in the competition. He can become the second youngest player to score in each of his first three Champions League starts (18y 215 on the day of this game), after Kylian Mbappe for AS Monaco in 2017 (18y 113d). He will be one of the go-to men for the home side on Tuesday.
Prediction
Chelsea 1-2 Barcelona
With both sides having a soft underbelly, Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League clash will not have much to separate them. However, Chelsea and Barcelona will engage in a closely-contested affair that will showcase their attacking prowess.
While Chelsea will depend on Estevao Willian, Pedro Neto, and Joao Pedro in the final third, Barcelona will look towards Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski for inspiration. However, with Marcus Rashford and Raphinha returning, Barcelona will have the edge in this fixture. The Hard Tackle predicts an engrossing affair that will end in a 2-1 win for Hansi Flick and his charges.
