Barcelona arrive at Stamford Bridge as the Spanish champions and one of last season’s Champions League semi-finalists. Hansi Flick’s deployment of a high line and Barcelona’s attacking quality have contributed to plenty of goal-laden fixtures in recent times.

For Maresca, the prospect of facing a team he played against several times as a player is an exciting one. He says it is a fixture that comes with opportunities and challenges.

‘They are an unbelievable team but we are going to do our best to win the game,’ said the head coach.

‘Their high line is a factor for sure, but we need to pay attention off the ball because they are a team that creates a lot of good chances and always score goals. So we will need the right balance between attacking and defending.

‘We are going to defend as always: like a team and by being aggressive. They have so many good players - it’s (Robert) Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, it’s Fermin (Lopez), it’s Ferran (Torres), Frenkie de Jong - but at the same time we have good players and we will try to win the game.’

This is our fifth league phase fixture on our return to Europe’s elite competition, with seven points gained out of a possible 12 so far.

We lost at Bayern Munich, one of the continent’s other heavyweights, on matchday one, but Maresca saw plenty he liked even in defeat – and he feels the Blues have only improved since.

‘We are a better team compared to the day we played Bayern away. But every game is different. Barcelona will be different in how they attack and defend, so it will be completely different.

‘But, for me, the team is getting better day after day.’