Conte tipped to go with Giroud up front

Olivier Giroud could start for Chelsea in their Champions League last-16 second leg against Barcelona, The Daily Telegraph suggest.

The story is based on comments by Blues boss Antonio Conte on the eve of the game at the Nou Camp.

After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Barca’s away goal means Chelsea must score in Wednesday’s game to have any chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

Conte said: “In the first leg we had a plan. For sure, the final result was not a good result for us because 1-1 means you have to score, you have to win if you want to go into the next round, or to score twice to draw 2-2.

“You have to say the game will not be easy. We know the difficulty we can face. But if you want to go through to the next round, we must stay in the game in every moment.”

The Telegraph therefore suggest Conte is considering selecting Giroud rather than record signing Alvaro Morata.

Also based on comments by Conte at Tuesday’s media conference, the Daily Mirror declare that the Italian has warned Eden Hazard he must win more major trophies in order to be considered one of the world’s best players.

He was asked to compare Hazard’s importance to Chelsea to Andres Iniesta’s to Barcelona.

Conte responded: “We are talking about two different players with different careers. Iniesta won a lot in his career. Hazard has to start to win important trophies in his career.

“I have great admiration for Andres Iniesta. For him and for the players who created the history of Barcelona.

“Iniesta is a genius of football. I like to compare him with Andrea Pirlo. We are talking about a genius, a genius with a football.”