A repeat of last season’s quarterfinal tie will be upon us when Spanish giants and record Champions League winners Real Madrid host Chelsea at the Santiago Bernabeu tomorrow night.
Chelsea beat Real Madrid 3-2 at this stadium last season, but the Los Blancos had beaten the Blues 3-1 in the first leg that was played at the Stamford Bridge which ensured Madrid’s progress to the semifinals with a 5-4 aggregate scoreline and eventually winning the trophy.
Both teams come into this fixture on the back of losses from their respective domestic leagues over the weekend, but both registered statement wins in the last 16 round, with Real Madrid outclassing Liverpool 5-2 on aggregate while Chelsea then under Graham Potter masterminding a 2-1 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund.
With Madrid 13 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona, the Champions League is their number priority this season even though they are already in the Copa del Rey final. Chelsea also have the Champions League as their only chance of silverware this term having dropped as low as 11th on the Premier League table and already out of other domestic competitions.
This is the third consecutive time Chelsea have reached the Champions League quarterfinal, but face an uphill task as their Tuesday opponents have eliminated three English teams in this competition’s knockout stage in a row.
Team news
The only Madrid player unavailable for this fixture is Ferland Mendy who is still nursing a calf injury. Carlo Ancelotti rested stars like Toni Kroos, Dani Carvajal, Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga during their 3-2 defeat to Villareal but all are expected to be recalled to face Chelsea.
Chelsea have quite a number of absentees! Mason Mount, Armando Broja, Thiago Silva and club captain Cesar Azpilicueta are all out injured while Benoit Badiashile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Noni Madueke, and David Datro Fofana are not part of the Blues’ Champions League squad.
The good news is that N’Golo Kante, who has been out injured for over five months is back and could be selected to enhance The Blues’ midfield.
