Chelsea vs Real Madrid Match Preview & Predictions

Chelsea vs Real Madrid match preview and predictions for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg. Read on for the head-to-head, team news and predicted lineups as Los Blancos travel to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea vs Real Madrid Preview

Chelsea and Real Madrid meet on what promises to be a very tense night at Stamford Bridge with a place in the Final of the Champions League at stake for the winners. Both sides have been there before, Los Blancos more often than the Blues, but it’s very tough to call who will be celebrating come late on Wednesday night.

Chelsea edged the First Leg, particularly in the First Half when they had chances to take utter control of the tie before it had really even got going. Christian Pulisic did score early on but Karim Benzema hammered home from close range to level things up at 1-1 and that was how it remained leaving this tie in the balance heading into the return clash.

Real Madrid should be boosted by the return of Sergio Ramos here. He has travelled to London and whether he’s 100% fit is highly doubtful but his presence could be key on a night like this and Los Blancos will smell blood after Chelsea failed to make their superiority pay early on last week.

Since the 1st Leg, Real Madrid have beaten Osasuna 2-0 in LaLiga. It took them 76 minutes to break the deadlock but ultimately they got the job done and are right back in with a real chance of winning the title after Barcelona’s loss last Thursday to Granada. Zinedine Zidane was able to rest the likes of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Nacho at the weekend, but there will still be some very tired legs in the Madrid camp if this one goes the distance.

The same could be said of Chelsea of course, who are battling hard to qualify for next season’s Champions League. They were in West London derby action at the weekend, seeing off Fulham 2-0 with a brace from Kai Havertz. They have largely been impressive since Thomas Tuchel took charge with Benzema’s 1st Leg strike the only goal they have conceded in six matches. That will give the English side hope that they can keep Los Blancos quiet here but an early away goal really would change the feel of this tie and Madrid would suddenly be well placed to progress.

Latest LaLiga Match Previews

Head to Head

• The sides drew 1-1 in the 1st Leg last week in Madrid.
• The sides haven’t met competitively previously since the 1998 UEFA Super Cup – won 1-0 by Chelsea.
• The only other meetings came in the 1971 Cup Winners’ Cup Final.
• Chelsea won 2-1 in the replay after a 1-1 draw in the original match.

Team News

Antonio Rudiger is Chelsea’s main doubt but is expected to feature. Mateo Kovacic is out injured.

Real Madrid travel to London without Lucas Vazquez, Dani Carvajal and Raphael Varane. Sergio Ramos and Ferland Mendy travel and could feature.

Predicted Chelsea Starting Lineup:

Mendy – Rudiger, Silva, Christensen – Chilwell, Mount, Jorginho, Kante, Azpilcueta – Pulisic, Werner (3-5-2)

Predicted Real Madrid Starting Lineup:

Courtois – Nacho, Ramos, Militao, Odriozola  – Kroos, Casemiro, Valverde – Modric – Vini, Benzema (4-3-1-2)

Chelsea vs Real Madrid Predictions

Score Prediction: Chelsea 1-1 Real Madrid (Real Madrid to win in Extra Time)

There’s every chance this game will be as competitive as last week’s 1st Leg. Real Madrid will be out if they don’t score so they have to be positive to some extent at least. They should be capable of doing that and their outstanding record in the big games this season and extra European experience may just prove decisive if this one goes into Extra Time.

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