Chelsea Vs Real Madrid
Chelsea and Real Madrid lock horns in a repeat of the 2020-21 Champions League semi-finals in the last eight of this year’s competition, with the first leg taking place at Stamford Bridge.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men produced a phenomenal comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in their Round of 16 tie, while the Stamford Bridge outfit made it past Ligue 1 champions Lille 4-1 on aggregate to book their spot in the quarters.
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The Blues’ defence of their crown is going swimmingly so far, with an underperforming Lille side no match for their English counterparts in the knockout rounds. Although, the continued uncertainty surrounding the Chelsea ownership debacle is doing the Champions League holders no favours and the Spanish giants will look to capitalise on it.
Up until the weekend, Chelsea had done a stellar job of focusing on their on-field endeavours, but Tuchel was at a loss to explain his side’s capitulation against Brentford, as the Bees ran out 4-1 winners at Stamford Bridge to leave the home fans shell-shocked in their seats.
Seeing their six-game unbeaten run in all competitions come to an end in such bitterly disappointing fashion is not what the doctor ordered before a meeting with Real Madrid.
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Los Blancos were far from their best against Celta Vigo at the weekend, but a pair of Benzema penalties ultimately got them over the line for a sixth win in seven matches. Being thrashed 4-0 by Barcelona in El Clasico was a sure-fire way to dampen the spirits, and Chelsea might hope the same sort of slip-up from their next opponents.
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Team News
Chelsea
Chelsea will have most if not all of their big-hitters available for the first leg of their quarter-final, although Ben Chilwell remains out for the long-term and Callum Hudson-Odoi is now dealing with a back problem as well as a sore Achilles.
Christian Pulisic was a late return from international duty and did not take part against Brentford, but the USA international is expected to come into contention here and will probably take Timo Werner’s place in the starting 11. Reece James’s return to fitness is sure to lead Tuchel to consider a switch to a three-man central defence.
Chelsea Predicted Lineup: Edouard Mendy, Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Reece James, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Marcos Alonso, Mason Mount, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz
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Real Madrid
As for Real Madrid, Eden Hazard will be forced to miss out on a reunion with his former club after undergoing a recent operation, while Serbian striker Luka Jovic is a fitness doubt due to an ankle problem.
Los Blancos manager has a near clean bill when it comes to injuries, although Eder Militao will not be available for the return leg if he is cautioned. Dani Carvajal will also most certainly be restored for this all-important clash.
Real Madrid Predicted Lineup: Thibaut Courtois, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Rodrygo Goes, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior
Game Changers
Kai Havertz
The German international has been in some tremendous form and his recent goal-scoring record suggests the same. Kai Havertz has 7 goals and 1 assist in his last 10 Chelsea appearances and Real Madrid know for a fact that he is the danger man for the London outfit.
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Karim Benzema
Probably in the form of his life, prolific Frenchman Karim Benzema’s timeless qualities have shone through. The 34-year-old took advantage of PSG’s defensive lapses to net a quickfire hat-trick and keep the Champions League dream alive for Real.
Benzema’s hat trick against PSG saw him move onto eight Champions League goals for the season, and one more would see him set a new record for French players in a single campaign.
Prediction
Shipping four to Brentford before being faced with a prolific veteran in Benzema spells danger for the Blues’ backline. Although, keeping clean sheets at home in the Champions League has not been an issue for Chelsea.
A return to a back three should at least not lead to a repeat of the weekend, and Real did not blow Celta Vigo out of the water by any means, so we expect a tightly-fought first leg to end slightly in the Blues favour. FootTheBall says Chelsea 1-0 Real Madrid.