Pedro and Marcos Alonso both trained with the Chelsea first team on Monday following their respective absences as they prepared for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Barcelona. Both have sat out the Blues’ last three matches through injury, but are available for selection by manager Antonio Conte.
Conte will be feeling the pressure though as his Chelsea squad entered the final phases of their preparations for the first of their two-legged last 16 tie at Stamford Bridge.
It’s their first meeting since the 2012 semi-finals, an affair which Chelsea famously won by recovering a two-goal deficit at the Nou Camp to progress before winning the competition a month later.
Lionel Messi and other Barcelona players appeared in a very relaxed mood on Monday as they arrived in gloomy London on the eve of their first leg match against Antonio Conte’s side.
The likes of Messi, Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembele were earlier snapped at Barcelona Airport getting ready to make their way onto the plane.
Barcelona are unbeaten in their last eight fixtures in all competitions, while Conte’s squad have been in very mixed form.
