Chelsea were gifted an extra day’s rest when their FA Cup game against Hull City was scheduled for Friday night.
On the other hand, Barcelona were in action on Saturday afternoon. The Catalan side travelled to Eibar to face one of La Liga’s surprise packages this season.
So let’s take a look at how Ernesto Valverde’s side warmed up for the game.
The result
On paper, the result looked like a routine victory for Barcelona, but it was far from it. The visitors did take all three points, winning 2-0 thanks to goals from Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba, despite the hosts making it a difficult afternoon for Barcelona.
Valverde decided to go with a strong team against Eibar, with the title race not completely decided in La Liga.
The result means that Barcelona have gone unbeaten domestically for a club-record 31 games.
Suarez opened the scoring with a brilliantly-taken finish, rounding the goalkeeper after Lionel Messi played a defence-splitting pass to find the former Liverpool man.
Eibar had chances to get back into the game, with Fabio Orellana, who would later see red, hit the crossbar with an effort from range.
Alba capitalised on a goalkeeping mistake late to double the visitors’ lead and confirm the result.
The system
Injuries to likes of Ousmane Dembele have seen Barcelona favour a narrower 4-4-2 system this season.
Philippe Coutinho, who is likely to feature in a more central role at Barcelona, compared to where he played at Liverpool is cup-tied, so there is an extra onus on the wing-backs to provide that width.
Both Alba and Sergi Roberto maintain a serious threat going forward, with both speed and technical capabilities.
Sergio Busquets continues to play the deepest of the midfield four, dropping into positions in between the two central defenders to start attacks.
Paulinho has been one of the surprises of the season for Barcelona. Returning to European football in the summer after a stint in China, the former Tottenham man has settled in perfectly at Barcelona.
The Brazilian midfielder has scored eight times in La Liga already this season.
With Messi picking up pockets of spaces, as well as having the likes of Andres Iniesta behind him, there’s plenty of service for Suarez. The forward has only improved during his time in Spain and he remains a menace for defenders.
Chelsea will be hoping their three-man defence can stifle the room available to the former Liverpool man.
Form
As previously mentioned, Barcelona come into the game having equalled a club-record of 31 domestic games unbeaten.
The Catalan outfit have not tasted defeat since the middle of January when they were beaten by rivals Espanyol in the Copa Del Rey.
In 24 games in La Liga, Valverde’s men are yet to lose and are 10 points clear of Atletico Madrid, who are providing the closest competition domestically.
The two sides are due to meet at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night in what is one of the standout games of the round. Antonio Conte’s men will be desperate to keep themselves in the tie for the second leg at the Nou Camp in the middle of March.
