Cucurella has Chelsea teen Willian don shin pads in training as he gets in practice to do battle with his Spain pal Yamal

MARC CUCURELLA jokingly warned Lamine Yamal to get ready for a brutal battle as Chelsea welcome Barcelona to Stamford Bridge tonight.

- BY BOBBY VINCENT

Cucurella will come up against his Spain teammate for the first time with the Blues left-back facing the challenge of trying to stop one of the world’s most dangerous attacking players.

Yamal, 18, has been a revelation since breaking into the Barca first team in 2023, with 31 goals and 42 assists for the Catalan side in 127 appearances.

He has quickly established himself as one of the most feared opponents for fullbacks but Cucurella seems to be relishing the task ahead tonight.

The defender said: “It’s difficult to play against them (type of players) because they have special talent and a lot of quality.