Chelsea face the seemingly impossible task of turning around a two-goal deficit at the Bernabeu to knock Real Madrid out of the Champions League this evening. Kai Havertz ’s strike will have given the side some hope of pulling off one of the great comebacks, but Karim Benzema’s hat-trick at Stamford Bridge is the key difference thus far.
Thomas Tuchel does have a few injury concerns to contend with, as fringe players Ross Barkley and Callum Hudson-Odoi are still unfit to travel, whilst Ben Chilwell is also out as a result of his long-term knee injury. Club captain Cesar Azpilicueta, however, no longer has Covid-19 and has made the journey to Spain.
The Blues did respond to last week's disappointment with a thumping 6-0 win over Southampton in the Premier League at the weekend, and they'll need that free-flowing attitude in front of goal if they're to force their way through to the semi-final of the competition.
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Two goals apiece from Mason Mount and Timo Werner, as well as a goal each for Marcos Alonso and Kai Havertz, was enough to showcase Chelsea's attacking prowess at St Mary's, but surprisingly, Chelsea fans want to see a change to the line-up against Madrid.
As per the results of football.london's latest 'pick the team' widget, Blues fans would like to see Mount dropped to the bench for the tie, with Havertz, Werner and Hakim Ziyech occupying an attacking front three instead. Meanwhile, they'd like to see Reece James return to the starting line-up instead of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, whilst captain Azpilicueta comes in to replace the Barcelona-bound Andreas Christensen in defence.
Take a look at how this would look via the graphic below.
The team Chelsea fans want to see (3-4-3): Edouard Mendy; Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva, Cesar Azpilicueta; Reece James, Mateo Kovacic, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech.
It's a tough ask for Tuchel's side, but the European Champions aren't going to give up their crown without a fight. As always in the Champions League, you have to expect the unexpected. It'll be interesting to see how the second leg plays out.
