Barcelona are on fire right now, as the Catalan club just cannot seem to lose any match at this point in time. Gerard Pique popped up to snatch a point against Espanyol, just when it looked like the league leaders would suffer a loss to their cross town rivals.
With the league all but sewn up already, Barcelona will surely be targeting the Champions league, as they face Antonio Conte’s Chelsea in a few days time.
Last year’s Premier League champions, Chelsea have had an uncharacteristically poor season this time around, as the tension between the manager and the club’s hierarchy seems to be affecting the performances on the pitch.
But with the likes of Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas and Alvaro Morata in the side, Chelsea can be a match for this rampaging Barcelona over two legs. The last time these two sides met, Chelsea knocked Barcelona out in an epic semi-final clash.
Fernando Torres famously scored in the dying minutes at Camp Nou, as Chelsea dumped the favourites Barcelona out of the competition, en route to lifting the trophy in Munich a few weeks later.
A lot has changed since that match though, as both sides has changed dramatically in personnel over the last six years. Barcelona though are already looking to reinforce in the summer, as they plan on building the best squad in world football.
After adding Dembele and Coutinho over the last two windows, Barcelona are now looking to strengthen their defense, as they are looking closely at David Alaba of Bayern Munich.
Growing up to become one of the best left backs in football, David Alaba is a big part of Ernesto Valverde’s plans at the Catalan side. According to Spanish outlet AS, Barcelona’s technical secretary Robert Fernandez has told president Josep Bartomeu to find the funds required to bring the 25-year-old to La Liga ahead of a summer move for Alaba.
In case Alaba does not come, Barcelona will target Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso as his replacement, with the Spanish full-back becoming a major hit at the London club. Alonso also provides a goal scoring threat, something that makes him truly unique in world football right now.
Barcelona will now have a great chance to scout the full-back over the two legs, and decide if it is indeed wise to bring Alonso to the club over the summer.
