5 player duels to look forward to in the Champions League round of 16

#3 N'Golo Kante - Andres Iniesta

Andres Iniesta will pose a considerable threat to Chelsea

Chelsea's form has been worrying of late, but that doesn't mean Ernesto Valverde's men can rest assured dreaming about ousting the English side. At least, their history with the Blues (3 draws and 2 losses from last 5 games) won't let them stay calm and relaxed.

There are a number of individuals battles you can outline in this fixture such as Eden Hazard vs Jordi Alba or Lionel Messi vs David Luiz/Andreas Christensen, but the fray in the middle of the park will be the most crucial activity for both the teams.

Alongside a trusted comrade in Cesc Fabregas, Frenchman N'Golo Kante will come up against midfield wizard Andres Iniesta and general Sergio Busquets when Barca visit Stamford Bridge next week.

Battles are won and lost in the midfield, and how the diminutive Chelsea anchorman manages to keep Iniesta quiet will hold crucial to the Blues' efforts to scrap a win in the clash. He might be 34 but the Spanish magician still boasts the muscle to win games on his own; a fact Antonio Conte needs to keep in mind prior to the fixture.

Barcelona's midfield is the telling strength of their attacking endeavours and since Coutinho is cup-tied, the responsibility of providing the openings for strikers to score automatically falls on Iniesta's shoulders. In N'Golo Kante, he has a sturdy opponent to defeat before he can carry out his usual creative role.

This midfield war will be important especially to Chelsea more than to Barca. Back in 2013, the way in which Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez neutralised the Xavi-Iniesta combination in the middle proved to be a vital factor for their famous 7-0 thumping of the Catalans. Surely, the English outfit will benefit a lot by taking a leaf out of that fixture.

Barca are the outright favourites to win this clash but should N'Golo Kante prevail against Andres Iniesta, who knows, the results might actually turn out different than expected.