Real Madrid will be looking to enact their vengeance on Chelsea as they visit Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night in what is sure to be a thrilling Champions League quarter-final tie. Here is TribalFootball's preview for the first leg.
Match Preview
Chelsea has had what can only be described as a complex season thus far.
The Blues began the 2021/2022 Premier League campaign looking like prime contenders for the title following dominant wins against the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City.
Thomas Tuchel's men appeared to be difficult to contain and borderline impossible to break down defensively at the start of the season - however, as the season went on, the cracks in the team began to unravel, and Chelsea's title ambitions began to come under question in December when the Blues managed to secure just 12 points from a possible 21.
Chelsea have since lagged behind rivals Liverpool and Manchester City and are now primarily focused on securing a top four finish. Saturday's shocking 4-1 home loss to Brentford has not helped the cause.
A massive cloud is also hanging over Chelsea after recent government sanctions placed on owner Roman Abramovich, leading to the sale of the club, which has only further complicated the west London club's season.
Tuchel and his players celebrating the last-16 win over Lille
However, despite Chelsea's relatively rocky campaign, they still find themselves in contention for Champions League glory as they prepare to face Real Madrid in a highly-anticipated quarter-final clash.
No love is lost between the two teams considering Chelsea put an end to Real Madrid's Champions League ambitions last season with a 3-1 aggregate win in the competition's semi-finals.
Real Madrid will be looking to knock Chelsea out of the competition in the Quarter Finals the same way they suffered an agonising defeat against the Blue in last season's semi-finals.
Real Madrid has been nothing short of dominant throughout the course of the 2021/2022 La Liga season.
They currently sit in first place in the Spanish top-flight, 12 points above their closest rivals Barcelona.
Unlike Chelsea, Madrid looks set to follow through on their domestic ambitions as they sit inches away from lifting their 35th La Liga title.
However, while they may already have one hand on the La Liga title, Carlo Ancelotti's men still have their work cut out for them in the Champions League as a result of their upcoming tie against Chelsea.
Real will almost certainly win the La Liga title this season
Ancelotti will be looking to grab an away goal as his side travels to Stamford Bridge hence he's likely to deploy a far less conservative approach than he did against PSG in the Round of 16 - at least for the opening tie.
Chelsea's recent loss against Brentford proves that they can capitulate under the right amount of pressure, hence Ancelotti is likely to push for an away win to set the stage for a return to the Bernabeu with Karim Benzema being a key part of that plan.
With eight goals so far in this season's champions league, a goal against Chelsea will see Benzema set a new record for the most number of Champions League goals scored in a single campaign by a French player.
Chelsea Team News
Chelsea will be able to go up against Real Madrid with a stacked squad as pretty much all their key players are fully fit and raring to go.
However, whilst the majority of Chelsea's squad will be available for the first leg against Real Madrid, Callum Hudson-Odoi will be unavailable for the tie with a sore achilles and Ben Chilwell remains out of contention with a long-term injury.
Kovacic could start for Chelsea
Real Madrid Team News
Former Chelsea star Eden Hazard will be unable to feature against his former club following a fibular plate operation that is expected to keep him out of contention for around a month.
Isco and Luka Jovic will also miss the Quarter Final's first leg due to injury.
Outside of Hazard, Isco and Jovic, Ancelotti has a full squad to choose from ahead of Wednesday's Quarter Final clash.
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso; Ziyech, Havertz, Pulisic
Real Madrid possible starting lineup:
Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius Junior
Prediction
Chelsea's recent 4-1 loss against Brentford is sure to give Real confidence that they can grab a result away at Stamford Bridge, so we'd be surprised if Los Blancos took a conservative approach to the game.
Chelsea on the other hand is likely to play a cautious game and try to contain the threat of Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema while also trying to nick something that will give them an advantage at the Bernabeu.
With that said, we believe a draw is the likeliest outcome for the 1st leg.
