Chelsea must cope with Messi situation

Soccer Betting Lines

04/27/2009 - Barcelona, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It is no secret that Barcelona possesses one of the deadliest offensive attacks in the world.

And as Chelsea prepares to meet this offensive juggernaut at the Nou Camp on Tuesday in the first leg of its Champions League semifinal, manager Guus Hiddink has acknowledged that not many teams have had success in slowing Barca down.

"I think a lot of teams have shown it is very difficult to stop them, they are able to score," Hiddink said. "The front line is world class, Thierry Henry has class, experience, [Samuel] Eto'o I had as a young player at Real Madrid when he was 17, and at that time he was already impressive and of course he has won titles and has experience."

The Dutchman is not even mentioning the dangerous midfield duo of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, but along with defender Dani Alves, who has a propensity for getting forward, this is a team that is loaded with quality offensive players.

However, much of Chelsea's success defensively will be tied to how well they deal with Lionel Messi.

The dynamic young Argentine has scored eight goals in Champions League play this season, and he has spearheaded a Barca attack that has piled up 94 goals in 33 La Liga matches this season.

Hiddink would appear to be in good shape with the experienced Ashley Cole at left back, but the problem is that the England international will miss the first leg through suspension, leaving a hole opposite Messi.

"I could start crying about not having Cole in that position and also look for excuses," the boss said.

"I am not like that, I like to put the full energy and the confidence to (the player) who is substituting him in that position."

The player who appears set to replace Cole is Jose Bosingwa, the team's regular starter at right back.

The Portuguese international was moved to the left side for Chelsea's 1-0 win over West Ham on Saturday, and Hiddink seems content to hand the job to him.

"We have some more options, but if Bosingwa is doing well he can do the job," Hiddink said.

"If you go to a double man [marking system], then we fail somewhere, another player with the quality to cause the damage. If you focus too much on that you forget there are other big players that can do the damage."

Plenty of players did damage in Barca's 4-0 pounding of Bayern Munich in the first leg of their quarterfinal win, and even though Chelsea's defense has looked shaky at times, they promise to put up a stiffer resistance than the German champions.

Chelsea booked its place in the semifinals by beating old rivals Liverpool, and even though they looked impressive in scoring seven goals over the two legs, Barca midfielder Seidou Keita believes that his manager, Pep Guardiola, will have the team well prepared.

"The coach is very thorough when it comes to preparing for games," Keita said. "We watch a lot of their games and analyze their weak spots and threats.

"Chelsea is an opponent we know well, as they're a great side and we always look out for their scores. We have seen their games in the Premier League and in the Champions League. They are a tough side with some physically strong players who can make a difference."

The Catalan side does enter the match on the heels of a 2-2 draw with Valencia over the weekend that cut their lead over second-placed Real Madrid to just four points.

And with the two Spanish giants set to meet up at the Bernabeu on Saturday, there is a chance that Chelsea is catching Barca at a good time.

However, Keita has said that his team is in a good frame of mind, and that they are only worried about themselves.

"The team is calm because we're working well," the midfielder said. "We're just thinking of ourselves. We don t need to worry about what Real Madrid are doing. If things go right, we won't need to worry."

The other semifinal features a pair of familiar foes as English sides Manchester United and Arsenal square off at Old Trafford in the first leg on Wednesday.

The teams have only met once this season, a 2-1 Arsenal win at the Emirates Stadium, but they will meet up three times in less than three weeks, and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes that his team must attack United on Wednesday despite playing on the road.

"At this level you have to be audacious away," Wenger said. "The weight of the away goal in European football could be discussed I feel. It may be a little bit too heavy.

"We have spoken about it, maybe making it a Carling Cup rule where it only comes in at extra time. At the moment you are encouraged to be very cautious at home but very audacious away from home."

Both sides are very good in attack, but Arsenal defender Kolo Toure believes that defense will decide who advances to the final in Rome.

"They are a really good team going forward but at the back they have conceded a few goals, like us," Toure said. "We have the same type of team - we both like to play but sometimes you can be caught out at the back. I think the team that will win will be the one that defends the best."