Chelsea one game away from double blow as Enzo Maresca handed fresh Barcelona dilemma

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca faces a dilemma with his team selection to take on Barcelona, with two players just one yellow card away from a Champions League suspension.

Chelsea are set for one of the biggest matches they will face this season, as they welcome Barcelona to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night. The Blues have an identical record to their Catalan counterparts in the Champions League so far this season, having picked up two wins and one draw from their opening four matches.

Following a disappointing draw with Qarabag last time out, a win over Barca would certainly boost their hopes of landing a top-eight finish in the league phase. There will be challenges for Enzo Maresca to deal with, not least the absence of Cole Palmer, who picked up a freak toe injury that will keep him out over the next week or so.

Add to that the injury sustained by Levi Colwill and Chelsea will have to be at their best to deal with the threats that Hansi Flick can deploy. Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, and Marcus Rashford are just a few of the stars available to the visitors, showing their strength.

The main worry for Maresca will surround how to keep those players quiet, while the Blues will need a threat of their own going the other way. Then there are questions over the players who are at risk of a possible suspension in the Champions League.

Three yellow cards in the league phase of the prime competition will result in a one-match ban, with two players currently walking a disciplinary tightrope. They are Joao Pedro and Andrey Santos, with the pair currently sitting on two bookings after the first four matches.

That leaves Maresca with a decision to make over whether that risk is worth starting the pair, given the enormity of the task ahead. Joao Pedro has already served a suspension in the Champions League this term, picking up a red card in Chelsea's win over Benfica earlier in the season.

Another booking would keep him out, yet again, while Santos has been a regular squad player throughout the campaign so far, and will be key in sharing out the workload while injuries are a problem. If the duo do pick up a suspension in the match, then they will miss the next game, which is away at Serie A side Atalanta.

The more immediate challenge, though, irrespective of those suspensions, will be overcoming Barca and grabbing another three points to the board. It's a first meeting between the two sides in seven years, with plenty of changes occurring since that clash back in 2018 - where Barca ran out as 3-0 winners.

If Chelsea are to win against Blaugrana - for the first time since 2012 - then they'll need to be at their best, with Maresca outlining the clear challenge ahead. He told the press before the game: "I think they're spectacular, it's a team that whenever I look at it there are things that can be learned.

"[There are] things that can be looked at, how they attack, how they defend, which in the end has given them the chance to win La Liga last year, to get to the Champions League semi-final.

"They do a lot of things very well and it's a team that always wants initiative, always wants value and we try to do the same things on our side."