The final couple of fixtures in the UEFA
Champions League Round of 16 will see Bayern Munich travel to Turkey to take on Besiktas holding a five-goal advantage from the first leg while Barcelona’s match with English Premier League champions Chelsea is finely poised at 1-1 after Lionel Messi snatched an away-goal for the Blaugrana at Stamford Bridge just over three weeks ago.
UEFA Champions League fixtures:
Wednesday, March 14th
Besiktas vs Bayern Munich
Barcelona vs Chelsea
Both matches kick-off at 19:45 (7:45 pm) GMT
Besiktas vs Bayern Munich – Vodafone Park, Istanbul
Following their 5-0 drubbing in their first-ever clash with the Bavarian giants, Besiktas have gone four matches unbeaten domestically. They played out a sensational 2-2 draw with Fenerbahce in the first leg of their Turkish Cup semi-final, while three wins from three league matches has seen Senol Gunes’ side steer themselves to within three points of log leaders Galatasaray. Domagoj Vida will be unavailable for Wednesday’s clash after being shown a red card in the first leg while the Black Eagles top scorer, Anderson Talisca, is expected to showcase his incredible talent on the biggest stage once more, having scored the winner for his team this weekend.
Besiktas recent results:
All competitions
10/03/2018 – Besiktas 1-0 Genclerbirligi
05/03/2018 – Trabzonspor 0-2 Besiktas
01/03/2018 – Besiktas 2-2 Fenerbahce (TC)
25/02/2018 – Besiktas 3-1 Fenerbahce
20/02/2018 – Bayern 5-0 Besiktas (UCL)
Bayern Munich are an astounding 20 points clear of Schalke, their closest challengers to the Bundesliga crown. Jupp Heynckes’ team are unbeaten in their last 17 matches in all competitions, since defeat at Monchengladbach in November, winning 16 of those and drawing just once. They have scored 36 goals in their last 10 games alone, Polish forward Robert Lewandowski with 11 strikes to his name in that run and following his brace against Besiktas last time out and his hat-trick against relegation-threatened Hamburg on Saturday, he is a firm favourite to find the net for Munchen once more on Wednesday and add to his amazing tally of 32 goals already this season. Manuel Neuer remains the only injury absentee with James Rodriguez expected to make a return.
Bayern Munich recent results:
All competitions
0/03/2018 – Bayern 6-0 Hamburg
04/03/2018 – Freiburg 0-4 Bayern
24/02/2018 – Bayern 0-0 Hertha
20/02/2018 – Bayern 5-0 Besiktas (UCL)
17/02/2018 – Wolfsburg 1-2 Bayern
Barcelona vs Chelsea – Nou Camp, Barcelona
Wednesday’s standout tie sees five-time winners of the competition Barcelona welcome one-time champion Chelsea, who lifted the coveted trophy in 2012, to the Nou Camp in what is expected to be yet another thrilling match-up between the two. Barca head into the fixture in fine form having won four of their five fixtures since returning home from the first-leg in England. Chelsea on the other hand suffered back-to-back defeats against the pair of Manchester clubs in the Premier League following their impressive showing against Ernesto Valverde’s men.
Barcelona recent results:
All competitions
10/03/2018 – Malaga 0-2 Barcelona
07/03/2018 – Espanyol 0-0 Barcelona*
04/03/2018 – Barcelona 1-0 Atletico
01/03/2018 – Las Palmas 1-1 Barcelona
24/02/2018 – Barcelona 6-1 Girona
*Catalunya Supercup - Barcelona won 4-2 on penalties
Chelsea recent results:
All competitions
10/03/2018 – Chelsea 2-1 Crystal Palace
04/03/2018 – Man City 1-0 Chelsea
25/02/2018 – Man Utd 2-1 Chelsea
20/02/2018 – Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona (UCL)
16/02/2018 – Chelsea 4-0 Hull (FAC)
Antonio Conte’s Chelsea head to sunny Spain with his Blues side still seeking their first-ever victory in seven visits to the Nou Camp in the competitions history, however, they are unbeaten in their last eight appearances against them as well as in the last four at the Nou Camp alone, notching up four draws. In their most recent, and arguably the most fondly remembered, Fernando Torres stoppage time equaliser in their semi-final clash in 2012 sent Chelsea through to the showpiece final 3-2 on aggregate after a 1-0 win in the first leg.
Barcelona vs Chelsea head-to-head:
UEFA Champions League only
Played: 13
Barcelona Wins: 3
Draws: 6
Chelsea Wins: 4
Barcelona Goals: 19
Chelsea Goals: 19
Barcelona vs Chelsea:
Last seven
20/02/2018 – Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona
24/04/2012 – Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea
18/04/2012 – Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona
06/05/2009 – Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona
28/04/2009 – Barcelona 0-0 Chelsea
31/10/2006 – Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea
18/10/2006 – Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona