Chelsea vs Barcelona live: UEFA Champions League news and lineups from Stamford Bridge

Hansi Flick has made just two changes to the team that beat Bilbao 4-0 on their return to the Camp Nou. In defence, Gerard Martin is replaced by Ronald Araujo, Alejandro Balde returns to left-back and the Uruguayan comes in at centre-back.

In midfield, Frenkie De Jong replaced Dani Olmo and Eric Garcia joined Fermin Lopez in the midfield three. Fran Torres, Lamina Yamal and Robert Lewandowski are in the forefront as last time.

Chelsea boss Maresca made five changes to the team that beat Burnley at the weekend. Reece James moves from right-back to midfield, while Andre Santos and Tosin make way for Malo Gusto and Wesley Fofana.

Moises Caicedo replaced Joao Pedro and Enzo Fernandez stepped into the attacking midfield role ahead of the Brazilian. Alejandro Garnacho and Steaua come on the wing in place of Jamie Gittens and Liam Delp, and Pedro Neto is in the lead.

Cole Palmer isn’t quite ready for the bench, though that was expected.

Barcelona XI: Juan Garcia; Conde, Kobarsi, Araujo, Balde; Eric Garcia, De Jong, Fermin; Yamal, Lewandowski, Torres.

Subs: Rafinha, Rashford, Casado, Christensen, Martin, Olmo, Bernal, Drew, Rooney, Kuchen, Szczesny.

Chelsea XI: Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Chaluba, Cukorella, James, Caicedo. Estao, Fernandez, Garnacho; Neto

Subs: Jorgensen, Tossin, Achampong, Hatto, Badiashil, Santos, Buonanot, Gittens, George, Gio, Pedro, Delap.

The lineup should be released in the next five minutes, so here’s a reminder of the early team news…

Aside from Cole Palmer, Chelsea will be without Romeo Lavia, injury-prone alongside Dario Oswego and long-term absentee Levi Colville, who remain sidelined.

Captain Rhys James was withdrawn in the first half against Burnley but Maresca confirmed the move was pre-planned and not due to injury. Wesley Fofana missed the match against Burnley completely due to “safety” but should be fit to face Barca.

Two meetings in two seasons in one stage of the competition. The 2005/06 season arrived with Barcelona seeking revenge on the new powerhouse of English football, and the teams are now among the continent’s best after their respective championships.

The tie went in Barcelona’s favor as the Blues traveled to Stamford Bridge for the first leg, with an early red card for Chelsea’s Asir del Horno giving them the lead before Thiago Motta’s own goal opened the scoring. However, that lead was clear late on as Barca’s pressure led to a John Terry own goal before Samuel Eto’o’s late winner sealed the deal.

And it was a decidedly less eventful second leg as Ronaldinho’s late goal was enough for Barca to qualify on away goals despite Frank Lamperi’s late penalty.

Chelsea weren’t the only London rivals the Blaugrana beat in Europe this season, as Frank Rijkaard’s men secured an impressive 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League final.

These two teams have met 14 times in the past in this competition, where both teams have won 4 times and the other 6 teams have ended in a draw.

Most recently, Barca’s 3-0 win saw them win 4-1 on aggregate in the last 16 of the 2017/18 season.

Of course, these two parties had several famous relationships between 2005 and 2012, some of which we will discuss below.

Chelsea have lost just one of their last nine meetings with Barcelona in the Champions League (2 wins, 6 draws), although that only came in their last game (0-3 at the Camp Nou in March 2018). A result that saw them eliminated in the last 16 (lost 4-1 on aggregate).

Barcelona have only won one of their eight previous attempts away from home against Chelsea in Europe (W25): a 2-1 win in February 2006 in the Champions League. Since then, they have played four times at Stamford Bridge without recording a win (D2, 2).

The first meeting to kick off the 2000s ‘rivalry’ between these two teams was in the 2004/05 season of the competition, when Jose Mourinho’s high-flying Blues met the Spanish giants in the last 16.

Goals from Samuel Eto’o and Maxi Lopez earned Barcelona a 2-1 home win in a game that also saw Didier Drogba sent off, before a dramatic comeback saw Chelsea claim a 4-2 home win to progress to the next round, with none other than Blues captain John Terry scoring the winner.

The match will probably be remembered for Ronaldinho’s incredible – almost mind-boggling – goal in the 38th minute, where the Brazilian moved in front of Chelsea’s defense before beating Petr Cech with a brilliant shot from outside the box!

While Chelsea won the Premier League that season, they fell victim to Anfield’s infamous ‘ghost goal’ as they went to Liverpool in the semi-finals of Europe.

Enzo Marsca was delighted to see his side get results against Burnley in what started a big week for Chelsea.

Maresca made four changes from the win against Wolves, including dropping star midfielder Moises Caicedo after the national break with Ecuador, but it didn’t cost the Blues as they ran out 2-0 winners at Turf Moor.

Pedro Neto scored the opener with a brilliant diving header in the first half, while Enzo Fernandez made sure of the points with a last-second finish in stoppage time.