Chelsea have been handed a blow ahead of their Champions League quarter-final second-leg after Carlo Ancelotti confirmed two Real Madrid stars will be fit for the clash at Stamford Bridge. The Blues head into the second-leg with a 2-0 deficit after goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio gave Madrid a huge advantage in the tie.
Frank Lampard was dealt a major injury blow in the first-leg as Kalidou Koulibaly came off injured, being replaced by Marc Cucurella who struggled in the second half. Ben Chilwell will be suspended for the clash at Stamford Bridge after receiving a red card in Madrid.
Wesley Fofana and Reece James endured a torrid evening at the Santiago Bernabeu up against Vinicius Junior, with the former being criticised for his poor performance. Toni Kroos controlled the midfield against Chelsea alongside Luka Modric but the Blues will be hoping they can get the better of the two veterans on Tuesday night.
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Ancelotti made changes to his starting lineup against Cadiz on Saturday afternoon with the Champions League quarter-final second-leg against Chelsea in mind, as Vinicius and Kroos were both absent from the matchday squad entirely - whilst Modric, Dani Carvajal and David Alaba were left on the bench. Vinicius and Kroos not even being named among the substitutes at Cadiz’s Nuevo Mirandilla stadium sparked fears over their fitness for the trip to Stamford Bridge, with the Madrid boss later revealing that they were both struggling with minor muscle strains.
However, the Italian went on to say that he expects both players to return to full team training today and be fit for the second-leg clash in west London. "They couldn’t play today because they both had small issues," Ancelotti told reporters when asked about Vinicius and Kroos’ absences against Cadiz.
"They trained separately today but tomorrow they’ll train as normal and be fine for Tuesday."
This will come as a blow for Chelsea who were hoping that two crucial players would be absent for Madrid after they ran the show in the first-leg. James will need to put in a much better performance to deal with Vinicius, whilst the likes of Enzo Fernandez and N'Golo Kante will be hoping to limit Kroos' impact on the game as they look to book their place in the final four of the Champions League.
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