Chelsea welcome Spanish giants Real Madrid on Wednesday in a repeat of last season’s Champions League semi-final, in this article we will have the normal match preview from myself ( Charles ) and then we are joined by @TotalCristiano from Twitter to take a look at Real Madrid and get his predictions for the game tomorrow.
Last May’s spectacle saw Chelsea utterly outclass the current La Liga leaders, with goals from Timo Werner and Mason Mount booking the Blues’ first Champions League final since Munich in 2012.
Thomas Tuchel’s men made light-work of Lille in the previous round, while Carlo Ancelotti’s side completed a remarkable comeback against PSG at the Bernabeu to book their customary round-of-16 place.
Domestically, Chelsea will look to bounce back from their shock defeat to West-London rivals on Brentford, a game manager Tuchel said he hoped was just a “blip”. The Blues had won 12 of their last 13 previously and still find themselves competing in three competitions as they look to finish the season strongly.
The Visitors – Real Madrid
Chelsea’s opponents on Wednesday need no introduction. Los Blancos have won the most Champions Leagues in history – but the foundations of the Bernebeu were shaken recently after a sobering 4-0 loss to arch-rivals Barcelona.
Nonetheless, they remain a handsome 12 points clear at the top of La Liga and possess a plethora of attacking threat that will sternly test this Chelsea back line; Vinicius Jr is a totally different prospect to last year when he fulfilled a wing-back role under Zidane. Benzema continues to amaze, whilst Luka Modric likewise seems invigorated under Ancelotti this campaign.
Madrid will be without ex-Chelsea favourite Eden Hazard; the Belgian undergoing ankle surgery last week to rule him out of the entire quarter-final and presumably much of the season.
A back issue means Spanish midfielder Isco is unavailable while striker Jovic picked up an ankle injury during the international period, leading to the trio being left out of Madrid’s matchday squad.
Real have no other injury worries, with a first-choice line-upat the dispense of Carlo Ancelotti, who himself is probably the biggest doubt as he continues to wait for a negative COVID test.
Chelsea :
Chelsea have reported no new injury news after Saturday’s loss; Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell the only notable absentees.
Tuchel will welcome the inclusion of the in-form Christian Pulisic to his matchday squad; Saturday’s contest coming too early for the American following a demanding international shift.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle for Chelsea would be responding to the weekend’s performance. The conditions are identical to this period last season when the Blues lost 5-2 to West Brom at Stamford Bridge following the international break, before flying out to Seville to face Porto. Tuchel will likely revert back to a 3-4-3 after Brentford picked apart his less familiar 4-1-4-1.
Chelsea’s midfield partnerships as of late have likewise come under scrutiny, the likes of Kante and Jorginho have struggled for consistency, particularly when comparing their roles in the team in last season’s European campaign. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, meanwhile, displayed on Saturday that he is not quite ready to fulfil a line pivot role at the highest level. Expect a start for Matteo Kovacic, who Tuchel praised highly in his pre-match press conference this evening.
Kai Havertz seems set to lead the line again despite some missed chances on the weekend. The industrious Mount will likely accompany the German up top whilst predictably dropping deep out of possession to assist in the midfield third.
Predicted line-up (3-4-3): Mendy; Christensen, Silva, Rüdiger; James, Kante, Kovacic, Alonso; Mount, Havertz, Pulisic.
Score Prediction: 1-1
Chelsea will begin the stronger side and score early into the second half, but Real will showcase their quality and snatch an equaliser, with everything to play for at the Bernabeu next Tuesday.
Real Madrid account @TotalCristiano now joins us on ChelseaFC365 today to take a look at Real Madrid, he is the owner of @MadridXtra which boasts 226,000 followers over on Twitter.
Predicted line-up from @TotalCristiano
Courtois;
Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy;
Kroos Casemiro Modric;
Asensio Benzema Vinicius.
Why did you chose this lineup?
I believe this is likely to be the XI, as Ancelotti stated he prefers the 433 instead of the 442 and I don’t believe he will bench one of the midfielders – but he should for Valverde or start Valverde in a 442 ahead of Asensio.
Who is a Chelsea player that worries you?
A Player that worries me the most is N’Golo Kante – I know he isn’t having the best of seasons but the memories from last year live on and if Valverde doesn’t start, I’ll be very worried.
My score prediction for this match is 1-1.
The Key battle in my opinion will be Vinicius/Mendy vs Reece James.
