'Playing against Barcelona will be a great challenge'

The Premier League champions comfortably swept aside Hull City 4-0 in the FA Cup on Friday thanks to a brace from Willian and goals from Pedro and new signing Olivier Giroud.

The victory followed a 3-0 win over West Brom on Monday as Chelsea bounce back from their consecutive league defeats to turn momentum back in their favour ahead of that Champions League tie.

Speaking after the match against Hull, Conte said: "The last two wins were very important for us and our confidence. To win in the league, and then the FA Cup, was very important for our confidence, and to prepare in the right way for Barcelona".

"To play against Barcelona is a great challenge for us. This type of game must give us great enthusiasm. We must be excited to play, especially against this team".

He concluded: "I consider Barcelona one of the best teams in the world. You have to try and compete with them at this level. It won't be easy, for sure, but we must have the right confidence and then we'll see what happens".

However, the two victories have given the Italian head coach a selection headache going into the fixture, which he also addressed: "We must take the right time to make the best decision to pick the best XI to start that game".