Antonio Conte states his prediction for FC Barcelona v Chelsea FC
Antonio Conte looks ahead to Chelsea FC's showdown with FC Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday night
Antonio Conte has warned his Chelsea FC stars that they will have to be at their absolute best if they are to have any chance of knockout FC Barcelona out of the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The Chelsea FC boss watched his side return to winning ways in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon with a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have been struggling to find consistent form in recent weeks and their inconsistent displays have caused them to drop out of the top four in the top flight.
Chelsea FC now switch their attentions back towards Champions League affairs and their crunch clash against FC Barcelona on Wednesday night.
The two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Stamford Bridge last month to leave the last 16 tie finely poised as the Blues look to try and progress in Europe’s elite club competition.
And Conte has warned his players that they will need to step their games up as they prepare to take on the La Liga leaders away from home this week.
Speaking at his post-match news conference on Saturday, Conte said: “The commitment was good and for this reason we must be very happy.
“For Barcelona we have to prepare in the right way. This will be completely different to today [against Palace].
“We have to show great resilience. We are paying against one of the best teams in the world. We played a really great game in the first leg, almost the perfect game.
“It won’t be easy, we have to know this and we have to try to find the right solution to play this game.
“The best way is to speak to the players, together with the right plan to play this game.”
Chelsea FC are currently in fifth place in the Premier League table as they look to try and finish in the top four.
