Wednesday’s match will be the third the two teams will be meeting in the Champions League.
Chelsea won 3-1 on aggregate in the Champions League last season, with goals from Timo Werner and Mason Mount clinching a 2-0 second-leg win at Stamford Bridge. The first leg in Spain ended 1-1, with Christian Pulisic’s 14th-minute opener for the visitors being canceled out 15 minutes later by Benzema.
Chelsea will be hoping to repeat last season’s 2-0 win over Real Madrid after being humiliated last Saturday at Stamford Bridge by Premier league minnows Brentford. However, Real Madrid will also seek to avenge last season’s loss to Chelsea and also get their first win against the English side.
Chelsea Team News
Reece James and Christain Pulisic are expected to start against Real Madrid, while Chelsea will miss both Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi through injuries. Trevoh Chalobah will also be available after missing Saturday’s match with Brentford due to Team selection.
Chelsea Predicted line-up
Tuchel is expected to make three changes to the team that played on Saturday.
Mendy
Azpilicueta, Silva ,Rudiger
James ,Kante, Kovacic ,Alonso
Mount, Havertz ,Pulisic
IN: James, Kovacic, Pulisic
OUT: Loftus-Cheek, Ziyech, Werner
Real Madrid Team News
According to Spanish source AS, Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti could miss Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first-leg encounter against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Last Wednesday, the Italian manager tested positive for the Covid-19 and had to miss out on his team’s 2-1 over Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Carlo Ancelotti will miss the trip to Chelsea because he returned another positive test on Monday.
This could be a big blow for Real Madrid.
Except for Luka Jovic, who is currently suffering from an injury, all members of Real Madrid’s team trained on Sunday, according to the club’s official website.
Real Madrid Predicted line-up
Real Madrid is expected to keep the same line-up that played on Saturday.
Courtois
Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy
Kroos, Casemiro, Modric
Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius Junior
Key Statistics:
- Chelsea is unbeaten in their last eight games against Spanish teams in European competition (W4 D4), including in all five that have taken place during Thomas Tuchel’s time in charge (W3 D2). Their last such defeat came in September 2019, losing 0-1 against Valencia under Frank Lampard.
- Real Madrid has faced Chelsea more times without ever winning than they have against any other side in European competition (5), drawing twice and losing three times against the Blues.
- Since Thomas Tuchel’s first UEFA Champions League game in charge of Chelsea in February 2021, the Blues have kept 10 clean sheets in 15 games; the most of any team. They also have the lowest goals conceded per game ratio during this period, with just seven goals conceded (an average of 0.47 per game).
- Karim Benzema has scored eight goals for Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League this season, which is already his most in a single campaign in the competition. If he scores in this game, he would set a new season-best for goals by a Frenchman in the UEFA Champions League (currently eight).
(Stats: Opta)
