My prediction : 1-2 or 1-3.

2 possession style teams, battle in midlefield will be key, Xavi-Iniesta decline makes us weaker against another possession style but Messi tracking back helps the mid players, it depends how players would start the game, hope no gift goals will be given and let the best team wins...

Dive ? ****... Hating is a thing, lying to change the truth is another thing, what kind of buthurt hater are you ?

Messi is NO HAZARD.
***edited by mode** no offense please

Marcus, you are talking smack about City for attempting to play the game based on their style and play like BPL champions? Does that mean sit 10 players at the back? Thats pretty much what Chelsea did against PSG and thats what City would have done against Barcelona had Mourinho been the coach.

I have a lot of respect for MC's game play yesterday, despite Barca, Suarez and Messi were brilliant. MC almost got a draw if Clichy hadn't seen red... (of course Barca should have nailed a 4 - 1 win if they were a bit more clinical).

But I did find the match very open and entertaining. I still hate Man City the crazy noisy neighbor though

Great respect for City despite the loss, they loose with honour, they loose playing Football... They never gave up till the red card.

Obviously, Marcus is used to bus tactics, and when it doesnt work he blames the ref :)

@tiki Whoah slow down there , I said about his diving header . You need to take a break from footy . It is getting under your skin .

LOl yeah respect for getting their as$ handed on their own turf . People will defenitely remember how bravely City played ! lol Please , our tactics , To you it is parking bus , for me is disciplined defending and furious counter attack ! We don't need 1000 passes to score against Barca . Football is simple , two three passes are enough to knock . And no you are confusing yourselves with it . When your boring possessional football that is lubed up by core players who played there for long time stops to work and if referees won't help , you blame defensive team .

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!”

Rocky film quote ! Could teach you few things about football too ! ;)

i must say this. seeing chelsea playing park the bus or disciplined defending or ultra defending, whatever u guys called it is quite boring. hear me out first. im not against playing defensively but with chelsea squad lineup, a VERY GOOD MONSTROUS lineup, its just doesnt fit.

Chelsea squad, in my opinion, looks more threatening on counter attacking with very fast players, good build up and such. u have creative midfielders like oscar, cesc with nasty wingers hazard, cuadrado, willian and strikers Costa, Drogba Remy. i cannot or even try to imagine with these lineup u guys play ultra defending. :l

the only team in this world that i see fit to play those ultra defending was atletico madrid. because they played more defensively in the past and when simeone takes over, they are good at attacking AND defending. man they even played very well against Real Madrid(no offense madristas). now a BIG threat for both Barcelona and Real Madrid.

i have stated my opinion. correct me if im wrong. sorry as a start :) and sorry because its off topic stuff. -_-

edit : maybe there's no chemistry yet between chelsea players yet? but playing ultra defending need a GOOD chemistry though. ==

what's your point? we only played 1match defensively this season and it was against psg away. you guys need to stop with the nonsense, we scored the most goals in the premier league and we also scored a lot of goals in the champions league.

I have one thing to say . Defensive Monaco patiently waited for perfect moments to strike and executed them perfectly . Play whatever beautiful football you want to play and which works for you but style that Atletico , Chelsea , Monaco plays shows that is just as effective as any philosophies and at times better than any .

Football is football , second leg things may go from bad to worse or from worse to great . Chelsea is not immune . We are playing PSG , not some crappy team . Arsenal was too arrogant thinking that Monaco will be easy and here is their payback .

Second goal was so ridiculous showing the flaws of Arsenals football . Whole defense was cut off with one pass and way up in oppositions field . I hope tiki will remember how bravely Arsenal played and like a hypocrite he is will cherish defensive approach implemented by Monaco .

P.S.
Arsenal fans really should be thankful to Chelsea . Year after year our performance is one of the main reasons why you have that 4th place to qualify for CL. YOU WELCOME !!!

@Rai

"Marcus, you are talking smack about City for attempting to play the game based on their style and play like BPL champions? Does that mean sit 10 players at the back? Thats pretty much what Chelsea did against PSG and thats what City would have done against Barcelona had Mourinho been the coach."

If sitting back and defending deep is the correct way to counter Barcelona, then why wouldn't you perform that way? Or are you more content with shipping 3 goals to the likes of Messi, Neymar, and Suarez so easily? Man City are too naive if they think that they can play their usual style against Barcelona. Remember this: the teams that always perform well in the Champions League are the teams that can adapt to play styles that are not their own. Real playing defensive to hammer Bayern, Bayern playing extremely aggressively to shut down Barca, Chelsea playing deep to shut down PSG... it's these teams that will always make it further into the CL. If City want to be stubborn and play offensive against a well-equipped Barcelona that are more dangerous on the counter than ever before, then let them do it. Because on the off chance that they are unable to take advantage of Barca's weak defense, they will get their asses handed to them (like they did in the 2-1 loss recently).

The motto of the game is joga bonito, but playing beautifully needs both entertainment and tactics.

Monaco doesnt have monster squad nor 600million worth squad anymore, im not annoyed when Atleti, Villareal, Celta Vigo, Malaga, Monaco or any of them....

None of those teams have cocky fans pretending being one of the best in Europe, i wont explain my point thousand of times...

And actually Monaco pressed high at time and went on counters, more brave than supposed '' mighty league leaders '' :)

Im happy you admit the actual level of PL, ''Arsenal fans really should be thankful to Chelsea . Year after year our performance is one of the main reasons why you have that 4th place to qualify for CL. YOU WELCOME !!! ''

Not many times ago, you were asking for PL to get a 5th CL ticket, glad you look to reality with open eyes, anyway its the obligation of results, not a smart thinking, year after year, game after game, the excuses of underachieving is destroyed one by one....

@tiki chelsea is one of the best in europe :)

"And actually Monaco pressed high at time and went on counters, more brave than supposed '' mighty league leaders '' :) "

actually monaco doesn't have like barcelona a big hole in their defence i mean that hole is bigger than kim kardashians ... beacause they defend well, more brave than supposed mighty league second placed team.

see what i did there? lol

Tikie

Again when it comes to talking about money clubs you need to be the last one who speaks . They laid their foundation as you see enough to bring old Monaco back even if they backed out with their finances .

And you are SO ANNOYED !! You could probably stick a fingers in your eyes hoping not to see it !

YOU HAVE COCKY fans , you must be delusional to think otherwise . The IQ of average Barcelona fan is mostly less than 70 ! You know what that means ? That condition is called "retard " in medicine . All Ronaldinho and Messi fan boys.

It is your opinion about PL level which honestly don't matter just like my opinion don't matter . However, you know something what matters , facts . You hate facts , don't you ? Don't start argument about EPL vs La Liga , because you just can't live with a facts . You are obsessed with that topic because you can't leave with a FACT that you lost that argument over and over and over again . So close it and shut it mate .

And mark my words wether you like or not , one day PL will have 5 representatives .

" And actually Monaco pressed high at time "

And actually Arsenal played defensive at times and played possessional football . You look at the game overall not few moments . See how your logic works ?

And It is not that Monaco was so fantastic beyond believe . It was the fact that Arsenal went out there and allowed the team that scored 4 goals in group stages to score 3 at Emirates home ground ! Absolutely ridiculous performance ! So many wasted chances , players lazy and naive and Wenger as always disappointment with his tactics when it matters the most .

Lol let PL have 1 representant this year in quarters, its quite an achievement if they succeed :)

And if Chelsea qualify, hope they will meet a Spanish team or Bayern so the bust will have his last trip like last year.

Barça vs Chelsea please, please so we can see how many times bars and posts would save you this time...

And im not obsessed EPL Should compare with Bundesliga, nowadays comparing liga to PL is overrating PL...

Against PSG, Chelsea had Paris Hilton hole, they are still wondering how did they miss that many...

Funny when defense is supposed to be the main bus weapon, your defense isnt that good Bradford and Spurs can tell you something about it, bring on the bus he will get tragic accident in the camp Nou highway this year...

PSG vs Chelsea looked like a porno movie just lacking the goals, and again PSG had their worst form of the year, dont think its over, im pretty sure 1-1 is better than 2-1 they are aware that they should make the game, and The bus is always happy with a small lead, until 94th min killer goal :)

CL is knock out competition , you get two shots and sometimes unlikeliest team goes further . Did not you feel the same way in 2012 ? Huh , you were all screaming that we are the best and better and still lost . Even diving and referee did not help ! Why ? Because karma strikes the most undeserved and corrupt eventually ! What goes around comes back around .

Chelsea is not City so careful what you wish for . Last year we lost to La Liga champions and unlucky CL runners up ( Imo should have won CL too ) who had our goalkeeper who did exactly samething that he did for us against PSG , just being brilliant ! With our team lacking quality in main departments except defense ( as always ) , however this year we are different and yes Barcelona is different but we are not City or Arsenal , we can shove our boots , so high up Barca's as* that you will all comeback moaning about how anti football is Chelsea . So shhhh !

Keep barking as always you barca fans bark and when things don't go your way you still arrogantly yell that you are the best and next year will be different . You are like Liverpool !

And Don't take credits for Atletico ! tactics they implement you bash on week in and week out and back your opinion when it comes handy . Stick to your magic tiki taka football . Atletico is Spanish team with Italian defense and english toughness . That is why we respect Atletico rather than Tikitakalona.

There is no way Chelsea would have won last year, Barça was closer to defeat Atleti than Chelsea lucky enough to reach semi against PSG....

Stick to your boring league, being the best of average level or form teams, in Europe the best you can expect is semi, of course if you have a lucky draw...

Chelski wont be recognized as a big team in Europe until they play as a big team, until this our bench warmer makes it the best midlefielder of your mighty squad...

I could meticulously write a 1000 page book about the dangers of developing technologies and artificial intelligence as a future opposing threat to man kind, and finish it before Tiki and Marcus stop fighting...

^ Dont take this seriously, we' re trolling each others... He sure hates Barça and i give him some digs back at the end no one owns the team he supports just insomniac people having fun...
But i cant hide the fact that i would kill to see Chelsea-Barça fixture, with Mourinho affraid from loosing but still loosing and blaming everyone the ball included.
Maybe he will ask to play with a Rugby ball and make the pitch unplayable if he gets a result first leg :)

^ Be careful what you wish for Tiki. I know that Barcelona is back to it's game, and that you guys are on some crazy form right now, but still. Chelsea could be a lot of things as the haters claim it to be, but I'm sure as hell they ain't no Man City.

We dont want to go into the final facing small teams, anyway if i had to choose between Bayern, Madrid and Chelsea, i'd rather take Chelsea... Thats a dream fixture, not an easy one but it would make things exciting...