Fortress Camp Nou tests Chelsea mettle

Semi-final first leg: TuesdayBarcelona vs Chelsea 20:45BARCELONA - Holders FC Barcelona will look to deny Chelsea FC a final place once more and take another step towards consecutive UEFA Champions League titles when their semi-final concludes at the Camp Nou, although they face a 1-0 first-leg deficit after Didier Drogba’s goal in first-half added time. For Barcelona this is their fifth straight semi-final as they look to become the first team since AC Milan in 1990 to win consecutive European Cups. Chelsea, beaten at this stage by Barça in 2009, are still in pursuit of their first continental crown in their sixth semi-final in nine years.Previous meetings• The teams have met 11 times in UEFA competition; Chelsea have four wins to Barcelona’s three, with four draws.Their last encounter came in the 2008/09 semi-finals. After a goalless first leg, Michael Essien struck nine minutes into the return and Barcelona lost Éric Abidal to a red card, but Andrés Iniesta’s added-time goal sent them through.• Barcelona’s home record against Chelsea is W2 D3 L0, but the London club have drawn on their last three visits.• Barcelona have won three of the clubs’ four two-legged contests in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase.• Roberto Di Matteo and Josep Guardiola were on opposing sides for the first of these UEFA Champions League contests in 1999/2000. Di Matteo was a 71st-minute substitute in Chelsea’s 3-1 home quarter-final win when Guardiola remained on the bench, while both featured from the start in Barcelona’s 5-1 second-leg success after extra time. Carles Puyol appeared in both games, and Xavi Hernández started the first leg but was on the bench for the return.• The teams also met in the 1965/66 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup semi-finals, trading 2-0 home wins before Barcelona ran out 5-0 winners in a third match at the Camp Nou.Match background• Barcelona are unbeaten in 15 European home fixtures dating back to October 2009, with 13 wins and two draws. They have scored 18 goals in five home games this season.• Barcelona’s record at home to English clubs is W15 D10 L2.• Chelsea’s record away to Liga opposition is W3 D5 L5. They drew 1-1 at Valencia CF in this term’s group stage.• Barcelona’s overall record against English clubs is W24 D18 L17. Their record against them in two-legged ties in UEFA competition is W10 L9.• Barcelona lost the 1991 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final 2-1 to Manchester United FC but defeated Arsenal FC in the 2006 UEFA Champions League final and United in the 2009 and 2011 finals.• Chelsea’s full record against Spanish clubs is W14 D10 L6. In two-legged ties with Spanish clubs in UEFA competition, their record is W3 L5.• Chelsea won their first European honour by beating Real Madrid CF in the 1971 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final in Athens, prevailing in the replay 2-1 after a 1-1 draw.• Barcelona have won two and lost four semi-finals against English teams, going down to Manchester United in this competition in 2007/08. Chelsea have lost their three UEFA competition semi-finals against Spanish opponents, including UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup defeats by RCD Mallorca in 1998/99 and Real Zaragoza in 1994/95.• Overall Barcelona have won six of their 12 previous European Cup semi-finals:2010/11 Real Madrid CF, won 3-1 (2-0 away, 1-1 home)2009/10 FC Internazionale Milano, lost 2-3 (1-3 away, 1-0 home)2008/09 Chelsea, 1-1, won on away goals (0-0 home, 1-1 away)2007/08 Manchester United FC, lost 0-1 (0-0 home, 0-1 away)2005/06 AC Milan, won 1-0 (1-0 away, 0-0 home)2001/02 Real Madrid CF, lost 1-3 (0-2 home, 1-1 away)1999/2000 Valencia CF, lost 3-5 (1-4 away, 2-1 home)1993/94 FC Porto, won 3-0 (home)1985/86 IFK Göteborg, 3-3, won 5-4 on pens (0-3 away, 3-0 home)1974/75 Leeds United AFC, lost AFC 2-3 (1-2 away, 1-1 home)1960/61 Hamburger SV, won 1-0 (replay) (1-0 home, 1-2 away)1959/60 Real Madrid CF, lost 2-6 (1-3 away, 1-3 home)Barcelona advanced to the 1991/92 final as group winners.• Chelsea have won nine of the 13 UEFA competition ties in which they recorded a home first-leg victory. When they have won 1-0 they have lost two ties and won three.• Of the 23 UEFA competition ties in which Barcelona have lost the first leg away they have triumphed on aggregate 11 times. On the five occasions they have been beaten 1-0 they have recorded three aggregate victories and two defeats, including the most recent contest against Celtic FC in the 2003/04 UEFA Cup fourth round (0-0 at home).• Chelsea have won one of their five previous semi-finals:2008/09 Barcelona, 1-1, lost on away goals (0-0 away, 1-1 home)2007/08 Liverpool FC, won 4-3 (1-1 away, 3-2 home)2006/07 Liverpool FC, 1-1, lost 1-4 on pens (1-0 home, 0-1 away)2004/05 Liverpool FC, lost 0-1 (0-0 home, 0-1 away)2003/04 AS Monaco FC, lost 3-5 (1-3 away, 2-2 home)• Barcelona’s shoot-out record in UEFA club competitions is:5-4 sv KKS Lech Poznán, 1988/89 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup second round0-2 vs FC Steaua Bucureşti, 1985/86 European Cup final5-4 vs IFK Göteborg, 1985/86 European Cup semi-final4-1 vs RSC Anderlecht, 1978/79 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup second round3-1 vs Ipswich Town FC, 1977/78 UEFA Cup third round5-4 vs AZ Alkmaar, 1977/78 UEFA Cup second round• Chelsea’s record is:5-6 vs Manchester United FC, 2007/08 UEFA Champions League final1-4 vs Liverpool FC, 2006/07 UEFA Champions League semi-finals•The winners will face FC Bayern Münich or Real Madrid in the final in Munich on 19 May.Team ties• Barcelona coach Guardiola lost his only semi-final against English opponents as a player, against Liverpool FC in the 2000/01 UEFA Cup. His overall playing record against English clubs was W4 D3 L2.• Fernando Torres scored seven goals in ten league appearances for Club Atlético de Madrid against Barcelona, helping Atlético earn four wins and only two defeats. He twice scored doubles in Camp Nou victories but was also on the receiving end of a 6-0 home reverse on his last appearance against Barcelona in 2007.• Juan Mata also suffered a 6-0 reverse against Barcelona during his time with Valencia in 2007/08. He did not win in seven Liga meetings with Barcelona but scored twice in a 3-2 Spanish Cup semi-final success in 2007/08 to secure a 4-3 aggregate triumph.• Oriol Romeu made 41 league appearances for Barcelona B from 2009 to 2011, playing twice for the seniors.Torres and Javier Mascherano were team-mates at Liverpool (2007-10); Mata and David Villa played together for Valencia (2007-10); Ashley Cole and Cesc Fàbregas were Arsenal colleagues (2003-06). Abidal was a team-mate of Essien and Florent Malouda at Olympique Lyonnais in 2004/05.• Mascherano played against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool – winning in the 2006/07 semi-finals, losing at the same stage in 2007/08 and in the last eight in 2008/09. His overall record for Liverpool against the London club was W3 D3 L4.• Fàbregas’s record against Chelsea as an Arsenal player was W3 D4 L9. He scored twice, including on his last appearance in the fixture, a 3-1 home league win in December 2010.• Gerard Piqué spent four seasons in England with Manchester United from 2004-08 but did not face Chelsea.• Iniesta struck Spain’s goal in a 1-0 friendly win against Frank Lampard’s England at Old Trafford in February 2007. Spain’s side also included Puyol, Xavi, Fàbregas and Villa.• Lampard hit England’s winner at Wembley against Spain in the countries’ most recent friendly last November. Puyol, Piqué, Sergio Busquets, Xavi, Fàbregas, Iniesta and Villa were in the Spain team, Cole also playing for England.• Villa broke the Spanish national team scoring record with two goals past Czech Republic’s Petr Čech in a UEFA EURO 2012 qualifier in March 2011. Villa also scored Spain’s late winner against Raul Meireles’ Portugal in the last 16 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.• Daniel Sturridge faced Thiago Alcántara and Martín Montoya in England’s 1-1 draw with Spain at the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.