Today, two matches will decide the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. The biggest intrigue on Wednesday is created by the clash between "Barcelona" and "Chelsea". In the first match at the "Stamford Bridge" stadium, the hosts took the lead after a goal from Willian, but Lionel Messi equalized the result, so the fate of the ticket to the next stage will be revealed in today's match. The start of these matches: 21:45. A bit earlier, at 19:00, "Besiktas" and "Bayern" teams will face each other, but after the German team's 5-0 victory at home, there is no more intrigue about who will advance to the next stage. Here is an overview of today's matches: First match In the first leg match at home, the "Chelsea" team showed no intention of giving up against the favorite "Barcelona" team and created several chances near the opponents' goal. Willian hit the crossbar twice, and eventually this Brazilian player put his team ahead. However, they couldn't maintain the lead, as Lionel Messi equalized in the 75th minute after a mistake by the opponents. In this match, neither team had a significant advantage: "Barcelona" held possession longer, but their opponents had more shots on goal. Teams' results After the first leg match, "Barcelona" lost points in the Spanish championship only once in four matches, playing a draw 1-1 with "Las Palmas", but there is no need to lament their performances - a win against their main rivals further increased their lead in the "La Liga" championship. Having won an important match against "Atletico" with a score of 1-0, and defeating "Malaga" 2-0 last weekend, the Catalan team still has a safe lead in "La Liga". In second place, "Atletico" trails "Barcelona" by eight points. The mood in their opponents' camp is completely different: two consecutive losses have dropped this team to fifth place in the "Premier League". After losses to both Manchester clubs (1-2 against "United" and 0-1 against "City"), "Chelsea" ended their streak of failures by defeating "Crystal Palace" 2-1 last weekend. Teams' news Before the return leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, both clubs will have some absences. "Barcelona" will be without the injured Denis Suarez and Nelson Semedo. Meanwhile, Andreas Iniesta, who missed the weekend match due to a minor injury, and slightly injured Sergio Roberto should be ready for Wednesday's clash. If the latter is likely to start from the beginning, then the veteran A. Iniesta will probably be seen on the bench, and in that case, his place on the field should be taken by Ousmane Dembele, who was not brought on as a substitute in the first match. "Chelsea" will be missing Ross Barkley, who was purchased in January but has been out due to injury, and David Luiz, who has been suffering from injuries for most of the season. Neither of these players could help their team in the first leg match. It is expected that Antonio Rudiger, who did not play in the last "Premier League" match, will be able to take the field from the start of this match. It wouldn't be surprising if Antonio Conte chooses the same starting eleven for this match as in the previous game at home. Predicted lineups: "Barcelona": Ter Stegen; Roberto, Pique, Umtiti, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Paulinho; Dembele, Suarez, Messi. "Chelsea": Courtois; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger; Moses, Kante, Fabregas, Alonso; Willian, Pedro, Hazard. Interesting facts 68% of teams that played a draw 1-1 in the first leg of the Champions League knockout matches away, progressed to the next stage of the tournament (23/34); This will be the fourteenth meeting between these teams in the Champions League. Throughout the league's history, only two pairs have played more matches against each other: "Bayern" - "Real" (18) and "Barcelona" - "Milan" (15); The last 13 matches between these clubs ended in draws; "Barcelona" has lost only four times in the last 39 matches at home in knockout matches (25 wins, 10 draws). The only English team to have defeated the Catalans in their own stadium is "Liverpool" (2-1, in February 2007); Luis Suarez has not scored in the Champions League for 881 minutes - this is his longest "dry" spell in the tournament; "Chelsea" has not lost to "Barcelona" in eight consecutive matches (2 wins, 6 draws), and the last four matches between the teams at the "Camp Nou" stadium ended in draws; Eden Hazard has already created 23 chances for his teammates this season. Along with Neymar, he leads this statistical component in the Champions League.
