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Morata benched for Barcelona tilt as Hazard leads Chelsea's attack

Shaun Botterill / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Antonio Conte has named striker Alvaro Morata to the bench in Chelsea's first-leg round of 16 tilt against Barcelona, opting to start Eden Hazard, Pedro, and Willian in a 3-4-3 formation, with the Belgian operating as a false nine up top.

The Blues' new striker Olivier Giroud was also named among the substitutes for Tuesday's match at Stamford Bridge, with Antonio Rudiger starting ahead of Gary Cahill in the backline. Marcos Alonso returned in time to make the lineup, having missed the last two matches with an ankle injury.

Barcelona's straightforward lineup features each of the usual suspects, though Philippe Coutinho was not named to the team as he is currently cup-tied to Liverpool.

However, the Blaugrana did name Ousmane Dembele for the matchup, with the young Frenchman on the bench for Ernesto Valverde's side.

Morata's last appearances came just four days ago against Hull City, where he played just 20 minutes. He featured for 29 minutes in the match prior, a 3-0 win over West Brom.

The Spain international - who has scored just once against Barcelona during the 2015 Champions League final, while with Juventus - had missed five matches with a back injury from mid-January to mid-February.

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