The capital city of Spain is set to witness what promises to be an enthralling contest come Tuesday night with Real Madrid playing hosts to Chelsea in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final clash between the two continental heavyweights.
The Blues would be gunning for Champions League glory after what has been a major turnaround for the west London giants since the January hiring of Thomas Tuchel who has brought about the best in a host of the Blues first-teamer’s as they look set to end the season on a euphoric high.
With Chelsea’s top-four hopes gaining major ground over the past weekend courtesy of their narrow victory over fellow Champions League hopefuls West Ham United, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool FC outfit dropped more valuable points as they conceded a stoppage-time equalizer against Newcastle United much to the advantage of Tuchel’s side.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, head into the forthcoming midweek clash on the back of a goalless stalemate against Real Betis in domestic action, a third such result endured by Zinedine Zidane’s men across their last four outings, which included a 0-0 affair at Anfield that secured their progress into the last four of Europe’s elite club competition.
While Zidane’s side are backed to secure the result in their favour from the upcoming fixture played on their own patch, few would count out the visitors Chelsea from putting together an impressive performance away from home in what could prove to be a pivotal step towards ensuring their place in the final of the Champions League.
WHEN & WHERE?
Up next: Real Madrid. 👊 pic.twitter.com/8GmLOoBNKN
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 25, 2021
Date: Tuesday 27 April
Time: 9 PM GMT
Venue: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
TEAM NEWS
Mateo Kovacic remains unavailable for Chelsea in light of the upcoming fixture with the midfielder’s muscle injury ruling him out for contention against his former side.
Chelsea reported no fresh injury concerns in the aftermath of their weekend win over the Hammers at the London Stadium with the likes of Andres Christensen and N’Golo Kante making solid returns to on-field action after their respective niggles.
Thomas Tuchel could be lured into making some minor adjustments to his starting plans for Tuesday night’s contest in Madrid with the Chelsea boss resting Reece James and Kai Havertz for the latest outing in Premier League action.
KEY BATTLE
Vinicius Jr vs Timo Werner
Vinicius Jr was the main man for Real Madrid in the first leg of the quarter-final clash against Liverpool which went the Spanish outfit’s way in a 3-1 scoreline where the Brazillian netted a brace.
The focus would once again be on the highly-rated winger when he takes on the Chelsea backline which has enjoyed some decent set of displays of late against big-name opponents.
20 – Timo Werner has been directly involved in 20 goals for Chelsea this season (11 goals, 9 assists); the most of any player for the club in all competitions. Threat.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 24, 2021
For Chelsea, it will be Timo Werner’s showings up top on the pitch which could have a major say on the match’s result as the Germany international seemingly returned to his usual prolific self in front of the goal when he broke his drought in the win over West Ham United.
MATCH PREDICTION
Despite Thomas Tuchel’s side heading into the Madrid showdown on the back of an important league win, the Blues are not fancied to come out on top of a formidable side under the charge of Zinedine Zidane who have enjoyed great success playing at home territory in Champions League football.
We predict Real Madrid to secure a 2-1 victory in a game that is poised to be an evenly contested affair should both sides turn up at their very best.
