Now that all the euphoria (and relief) after the Liverpool game has died down the inevitable reality is starting to kick in – we’ve gotta play Barcelona ffs!

And not only have we got to play them, with Petr Cech looking like he’d give Sammy the Seal competition (I’ll get on to him later), but we’ve also got to take them on without a left-back.

Ashley Cole got himself a stupid yellow card for a push on Arbeloa and now misses the game against Barca – as if playing them wasn’t going to be hard enough as it was – now we don’t even have a recognised left-back to deal with the top scorer in the Champions League. Lionel Messi has already scored 8 goals in the competition so far, so how the hell we’re supposed to stop him scoring any more with Cole out, I’ve no idea.

Guus Hiddink says “It’s true, the situation at left back might cause us some problems but we have time to resolve it.  Barcelona have very skilful players. They know how to handle the pace and I like their philosophy of football.  They sign players who are attractive to watch. They like to play advanced attacking football and it is difficult to play them because they are a top side.”

We’ve got no Wayne Bridge anymore and Paulo Ferreira’s out long term, so when you look at our squad and think about who we could play there I guess the worry would be that Michael Essien – who’s stood in just about all over the pitch when needed – will end up filling in. The trouble with that though is that in a game like this, it’s probably more important than ever to have Essien play in position. So who else then? Well, what about Ivanovic? Isn’t he meant to be versatile enough to play right across the back four?

He’s certainly done a decent job filling in at right-back lately and if Bosingwa’s back for Barca, maybe Ivanovic can slot in on the left?

Mind you, whatever Hiddink has in mind, with us heading for the Nou Camp on April 28^th, he’d better decide quick!

Filed under: Current Players, Rants