Real Madrid vs Chelsea Predictions & Match Preview

Real Madrid vs Chelsea predictions and match preview for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League fixture. Read on for analysis as Los Blancos target a place in the last four.

Real Madrid vs Chelsea Preview

Real Madrid face Chelsea this week in the 1st Leg of their UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final. It’s a repeat of what was a dramatic tie between the sides at this stage in last season’s competition which Los Blancos won despite an impressive 2nd Leg comeback from what was then Thomas Tuchel’s side.

Twelve months on, Real Madrid will be clearer favourites this time around, although they do come into the game on the back of a disappointing 3-2 home defeat against Villarreal. There was rotation ahead of this tie with the realisation that the league title is effectively out of sight now, but Carlo Ancelotti would still have been disappointed by his side’s inability to continue the momentum that was building after two excellent wins last week.

A 6-0 triumph over Real Valladolid was followed by a 4-0 Clasico win in the Copa del Rey at Camp Nou with Karim Benzema scoring hat-tricks in both games. With Vini Junior also showing signs of returning to his best form, the duo ought to cause big problems in this tie for their English opponents with a last four showdown against Bayern Munich or Manchester City the reward for the victors.

Chelsea will be the rank outsiders in the section of the draw but they have shown in the past they can still be dangerous opposition in this competition, even if things aren’t going to plan in a domestic setting. To say they are having a poor season this time around would be a huge understatement. Their hopes of playing any form of European football next term now may rest in winning this competition with the Blues only 11th in the Premier League.

Their average of under a goal per game in the Premier League this term is perhaps the most striking statistic for a club that has splashed out hundreds of millions on new players since Todd Boehly’s takeover of the club last year. The latest surprising development saw Frank Lampard return as boss until the end of the season following Graham Potter’s sacking, but it was a poor start for the Chelsea legend as his side sunk to a 1-0 defeat at Wolves at the weekend.

Score Prediction: Real Madrid 2-0 Chelsea

Despite the obvious quality that exists in this Chelsea squad, the lack of a natural goalscorer to lead the line is a striking flaw and they’ve not scored in any of their last 3 league games. Real Madrid by comparison have the likes of Benzema and Vini coming into form at just the right time and those two alone look capable of leading Real Madrid to a solid 1st Leg victory here in a tie the defending champions should win.

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