Chelsea battle Real Madrid in the Champions League tonight, hoping to quickly get over their stunning defeat by Brentford.
After the international break, the Blues were emphatically upset by their west London rivals at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with Christian Eriksen among the goal scorers as Thomas Tuchel’s side collapsed in humiliating, uncharacteristic fashion after initially leading through Antonio Rudiger.
Chelsea must swiftly recover from a first defeat to Brentford since 1939 that bore none of the hallmarks of their recent admirable on-pitch form that saw them put aside the significant off-field distractions linked to the club’s impending takeover.
Tuchel is desperate for his side to successfully retain their European crown after seeing off Lille in the last 16, but they face a stern quarter-final test against the 13-time continental champions.
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The visitors - who will have manager Carlo Ancelotti in the dugout after he tested negative for Covid-19 on Wednesday - will fear no one after their incredible comeback to topple Paris Saint-Germain in the last round, which saw them overturn a 2-0 deficit courtesy of a stunning 17-minute Benzema treble.
Madrid bounced back from their El Clasico rout by Barcelona to defeat Celta Vigo on Saturday in a game in which Karim Benzema scored two of three penalties, with Los Blancos now 12 points clear in the LaLiga title race with only eight matches left to play.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Chelsea vs Real Madrid is scheduled for an 8pm BST kick-off tonight, Wednesday April 6, 2022.
The match will take place at Stamford Bridge in west London.
Where to watch Chelsea vs Real Madrid
TV channel: In the UK, Chelsea vs Real Madrid will be televised live on BT Sport 2 and BT Sport Ultimate tonight, with coverage beginning at 7pm.
Live stream: Subscribers will also be able to watch the match online via the BT Sport website or app.
Live blog: You can also follow all the action via Standard Sport’s live match blog. James Robson will be in attendance for us at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea vs Real Madrid team news
Chelsea XI: Mendy; Christensen, Silva, Rudiger; James, Jorginho, Kante, Azpilicueta; Mount, Pulisic; Havertz.
Subs: Kepa, Bettinelli, Chalobah, Alonso, Sarr, Kovacic, Lukaku, Werner, Kenedy, Loftus-Cheek, Saul, Ziyech.
Real Madrid XI: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Valverde; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Benzema, Vinicius.
Subs: Lunin, Toni, Vallejo, Nacho, Asensio, Marcelo, Vazquez, Bale, Ceballos, Rodrygo, Mariano, Camavinga.
Chelsea vs Real Madrid prediction
Tuchel will demand an immediate response from his Chelsea players, and history suggests he will likely get it.
After their heaviest defeat of last season, the shock 5-2 home thumping by West Brom, the Blues came back firing, going on to win the Champions League and make the FA Cup final as well as finishing in the Premier League’s top four.
The German knows how to get a reaction, though any repeat of Saturday’s defensive horror show will surely be fully punished by the evergreen Benzema and Co.
We predict a cagey first-leg draw that will leave it all to play for at the Bernabeu next Tuesday.
1-1 draw.
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Chelsea have not lost any of their previous five meetings against Real Madrid, memorably winning 3-1 on aggregate in last season’s Champions League semi-finals.
They also beat them over two legs in the 1971 European Cup Winners’ Cup and in the 1998 Uefa Super Cup in Monaco.
Chelsea wins: 3
Real Madrid wins: 0
Draws: 2
