Chelsea's season lies on what happens at Stamford Bridge today in the Champions League quarter-final second-leg tie against Real Madrid. The Blues must turn around a two-goal deficit if they are to secure an unlikely spot in the semi-finals.
Frank Lampard's side will need to score three goals in a game for the first time since October if they are to beat the current European champions. Having lost their last three games, the west Londoners have the odds stacked against them.
Their task was made more difficult by losing Kalidou Koulibaly. The defender missed training on Monday at Cobham after limping off in the first leg with a hamstring issue after sprinting to recover a loose ball.
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"He won't be available for either game [Brighton or Real Madrid]," Lampard said on Koulibaly last week. "A hamstring injury, it will be a matter of weeks rather than days."
Despite the blow, Chelsea were handed a boost with Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Thiago Silva and Kai Havertz all returning to training after missing the weekend's loss to Brighton & Hove Albion. Loftus-Cheek has not featured since the 2-0 home loss to Aston Villa and was omitted from Lampard's squad on Saturday due to a back injury.
Silva started in Spain last week after missing over six weeks of action and was handed a rest as a precautionary on Saturday. In Havertz's case, the Germany international had an issue in his knee in the first leg but is expected to feature. "Kai has had a little issue with his knee which he felt in Madrid on Wednesday night. He should be fine for Tuesday."
Another player who was rested against Brighton but should be okay to feature tonight is N'Golo Kante. The midfielder played 75 minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu last week and is expected to play an important role on Tuesday.
Ben Chilwell will be unavailable having been sent off in the first leg. Armando Broja and Cesar Azpilicueta are the only long-term absences.
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