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After an intense 90 minutes of play during the first leg at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea managed to hold favourites Barcelona to a 1-1 draw.
Chelsea played with urgency and purpose to draw with FC Barcelona who were the hot favorites to win in the first leg. Chelsea's manager Antonio Conte produced a tactical masterclass to contain the lethal Barcelona attack.
With the second leg set to start in less than 24 hours, here are things to watch out for in this highly anticipated tie.
#5 Willian in top form
The Brazilian playmaker has a very peculiar trait, he becomes the most important player of the Chelsea team anytime they under-perform in a season. This happened in the 2015-16 season, when he became the team's standout performer under Jose Mourinho, and he certainly is doing more of the same this season under Antonio Conte.
Willian has been in top form this season and has produced quite a number of stellar performances lately. He has scored 13 goals and provided 7 assists, with five goals coming in his last 5 matches.
He displayed his all-round capabilities by scoring the opening goal against Barcelona in the first leg. His pace and dribbling skills are quite underrated because he is often overshadowed by his superstar team-mate Eden Hazard.
It would be a joy to watch him against Barcelona in the 2nd leg. Hopefully he will score a few more.
#4 The Messi factor
Last time out, Lionel Messi broke the jinx of never having scored against Chelsea, he latched onto a sweet pass from Iniesta before firing it beyond the reach of Thibaut Courtois.
Camp Nou has undoubtedly witnessed Messi's prowess as arguably the most technically gifted player in the history of football over and over again. He has broken many records in the colours of the Catalan club.
He has been in stellar form this season, with 34 goals and 5 assists to his name. He was omitted from the Barcelona squad for the last match against Malaga due to personal reasons.
It is said that each time Messi becomes a proud father (he had a son few days back), he celebrates by tearing apart his opponents. Will that be Chelsea's fate on Wednesday night?
#3 Barcelona's midfield crisis
With Andres Iniesta seemingly out of the high-profile clash due to a hamstring injury he suffered while playing against Atletico Madrid, Barcelona face a midfield crisis of sorts right now.
Philippe Coutinho is cup-tied in the UEFA Champions League. Given he has already represented Liverpool this season in the competition, he misses the clash.
Denis Suarez is also out of contention due to a muscle strain. The probable Barca midfield trio will feature Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets, with probably the inconsistent Andre Gomes filling in for the Barca captain.
Will the absence of star players such as Iniesta and Coutinho affect Barcelona's game plan and the final result?
#2 A bitter rivalry
The last competitive match played between Barcelona and Chelsea at the Camp Nou, was a dramatic thriller in the UEFA Champions League semi-final during the 2011-12 season. Chelsea won the first leg played at Stamford Bridge by a 1-0 margin.
At the Camp Nou, Barcelona went 2-0 up with goals scored by Busquets and Iniesta. The game ended 2-2 and Chelsea advanced to the finals on aggregate, courtesy of a last-gasp goal by Fernando Torres.
Similar scenes took place when they met each other in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League in 2008-09. The highly tense clash ended 0-0.
What will happen this time out?
#1 Antonio Conte - a tactical mastermind
Everybody expected a mauling of Chelsea by Barcelona prior to the first leg. But the stability exhibited by Chelsea in the first hour of the match, was second to none.
The Barcelona team was not allowed to put the Chelsea defense on the back-foot. Christensen and Rudiger tightly-marked Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, hence Barcelona was constantly frustrated in spite of having majority of the possession.
The game would have been a perfect one for Chelsea, but a Christensen mistake led to Messi's goal, and Barcelona grabbed a vital away goal.
Chelsea's ceaseless switch from a 3-4-3 formation while attacking to a 5-2-3 while defending, was just another example of how good Antonio Conte could be with his bag-full of tricks.
Winning the UEFA Champions League may be a tough prospect, but that could project Chelsea's otherwise disappointing season under Conte, to a new high. Could the Italian who lead Chelsea to the EPL title last season, pull off a magic act and snatch the game away from Barcelona?
