Chelsea, Real Madrid In Titanic Second Leg Champions League Clash

Chelsea will be seeking to qualify for their first Champions League final since 2012 as the Blues host Real Madrid in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League at Stamford Bridge today.

The first leg, played last week at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, ended in a 1-1 draw, with Karim Benzema canceling out Christian Pulisic’s early strike.

The result gives Chelsea the edge due to the away goal rule heading into Wednesday’s fixture and a goalless draw will be enough for them to cruise through to the finals. So, the onus will be on Real Madrid to take the game to their hosts and come out on top if they are to stay alive in the competition.

Tuchel will be hopeful that the chances missed by his side do not come back to haunt his team. While Zinedine Zidane will be hoping that his team can capitalize on the chances missed by the Blues.

Statistically, Real Madrid and Chelsea have only ever met three times down the years, and the Spanish side have failed to win any of those meetings – losing twice and drawing once to the Blues since 1971.

As far as preparations for the heavyweight clash go, Chelsea warmed up in fine fashion, securing a solid 2-0 win over local rivals Fulham in the Premier League this past weekend. Real Madrid, too, picked up a victory over CA Osasuna by the same scoreline as their midweek opponents while also managing to rest some of their key players ahead of the trip to west London.

Chelsea will once again be without the services of midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who will sit out against his former club due to a thigh injury. Antonio Rudiger, who missed the weekend win against Fulham, with a facial injury, is available for selection and should be able to play with mask on, Thomas Tuchel confirmed ahead of the game.

On the other hand, Real Madrid have been handed a triple boost ahead of their trip to London as captain Sergio Ramos is fully fit and part of the travelling squad. In addition, Federico Valverde has recovered from coronavirus while Ferland Mendy is also back to fitness and has been included for the trip as well. However, Raphael Varane has been ruled out after picking up an injury at the weekend. He joins Lucas Vazquez and Dani Carvajal on the sidelines.