Lets talk tactics -- Chelsea Vs Barcelona

So the Golden Guus has managed to silence Barca at Camp Nou and will need to repeat the same feat at Stamford Bridge next week to guide Chelsea into the Rome Final. In yesterday's game, it was like a 1-4-2-2-1 with Malouda given a free role on the left hand side.

Cech(Keeper), Bosingwa(LB), Alex and Terry(CB),Ivanovic(RB), Essien and Mikel(Defensive Midfielders/Holding Midfielders) with Essien given more attacking freedom while Mikel is to hold the fort at all times, Lampard and Ballack (central attacking midfielders) and Drogba (lone striker), while Malouda is to help out Bosingwa in defending against Alves and Messi and also exploit the space left by Alves just to keep the right side of Barca in check.

Now Henry plays down the left side of Barca without drifting towards the centre because Eto and Messi are there. Messi is on the right but cuts in very often to draw free kicks or work a 1-2 with Alves or Iniesta. Eto was kept very quiet but broke away once after leaving Alex dead and nutmegging Terry. Luckily Cech and the two central defenders did well to slow him down and close his angle before he could take a shot.

Xavi is a very intelligent player who is currently protecting the defence and starting all the attacks. He was simply too impressive yesterday and even robbed Lampard of the ball a few times. Now Guus was correct to take off Lampard because he was not playing well. That was because he made a few bad fouls and not keeping the ball well. At the moment, Essien, Ballack and Drogba are doing very well in keeping the ball, linking up play or defending.

Now, the right side of the field is somewhere Chelsea could look to exploit with Ashley Cole back. Messi does not defend at all when he gets marked out of the game. Perhaps Malouda with his newly found form could look to attack Alves with more regularity and partnership with Ashley. Yesterday no attacks were made on the left hand side of the field because Chelsea did not play with a right midfielder. Ballack occasionally gets into that position but he brings the ball in.

The right side of the field is not a problem because once you get the measure of Henry, Abidal is ageing and does not provide enough attacking threat. Of course that is if you do get the measure of Henry. Ivanovic was beaten a few times but closed down the space sufficiently with Terry helping him.

Chelsea played alot of long balls up to Drogba which he wins with ease yesterday but because of Barca's insanely fast midfield, the attacks were always broken up. However two things worked in favour of Chelsea with Marquez(meniscus) and Puyol (second yellow card) ruled out for the game at Stamford Bridge.

Now lets talk about the shape of Barca. Valdes in goal, with the back four of Alves(RB), Pique and Marquez(replaced by Puyol) (CB) and Abidal(LB), Yaya Toure(defensive midfield), Iniesta and Xavi(central attacking midfield), Messi(right forward), Eto(central forward), Henry(left forward) in a 1-4-1-2-3 manner. They will be playing the same team next week minus one central defender. So Martin Caceres, Xavi Torres or Sylvinho could come into central defence to partner Pique. Or even Yaya could be moved back and Keita be used as the holding midfielder.

Of course, Guardiola might want to play it safer with Eto and Messi up front while throwing in another midfielder like Hleb to stretch play. Or Keita to offer more protection to the defence. Guus will definitely have taken that into account when he plans his offensive for next week.

So the backline of Barca is very good to attack. If Lampard can get his form next week, Chelsea can use route one again to take the game to Barca. Drogba was winning almost every long ball but his teammates were too cautious and not fast enough to link up with him. Pique did a very good job yesterday but Chelsea will look to exploit his inexperience next week. Iniesta was definitely more impressive than any of the players on the pitch yesterday. You cannot also catch Messi once he starts dribbling, unless you physically catch him and foul him.

So Essien and Mikel or Ballack and Mikel needs to snuff out the threats of both Xavi and Iniesta. Ashley and Malouda will work on Messi and Alves. Essien could break away and he dribbles out of tight situation ever so well.

Perhaps Anelka could be used as a right winger or right forward to offer more threat against the ageing Abidal. Henry does not help out in defence as well so If Chelsea can stretch Barca on the wings, Drogba. Lampard or Essien can cut through the middle and go straight against the Barca defense. That is if you can keep Xavi and Iniesta quiet. Ballack is having a good spell so he might be able to play against them.

So if we can get Lampard and Mikel up to scratch, Chelsea has a very good chance to winning the game at the Bridge. Of course, the most important thing is still not to concede so no gungho football will be served up from the off. Perhaps Hiddink would want Chelsea to retain more of the ball and certain players like Alex and Ballack might just be one booking away from missing the final.. so they have got to be really careful.

In conclusion, mark out Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. With Messi you really have to get Ashley to stick really close and Essien or Mikel to deputise if Ashley is linking up in attack. While Xavi and Iniesta will have to neutralize via the midfield battle with Ballack and Lampard. With Drogba and Malouda or Anelka against Barca's defense, it is highly possible to get a few goals.

With Ashley back, a fit Bosingwa might move back to right back and Ivanovic might just have to make way. He was abit unsteady against Henry but played intelligently and worked very hard. He was also fearless and it will be interesting to see if Bosingwa gets his place back. After all, Bosingwa may be faster than Ivanovic but Bosingwa lets opponents get past him as well because he is not that good a tackler. He goes up in attack often and usually when he does not perform, Chelsea does not play well as well. But then again, a flying Bosingwa with Anelka on the right might just tear down that side of Barca.

So attack through the wings and straight lobs to Drogba for him to bring Chelsea into the play. The rest of midfield will be defending and attacking on the break. If we let Barca score, we will have to open up and Barca can tear you apart with their counter attacking or even direct attempts. So the second leg remains a thrilling tactical battle. I will not be surprised for Guus to start practising penalty kicks or aim to kill off Barca in extra time when away goals do not count.