Real Madrid vs Chelsea: Lampard’s Blues face the holder’s TONIGHT in a tasty Champions League affair – stream, TV
CHELSEA head to the Santiago Bernabeu for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid TONIGHT.
The previous two sides to lift the Champions League meet with the winner of Manchester City and Bayern Munich lying in wait.
Both teams come into the game with the Champions League their strong priorities.
Chelsea languish in 11th in the Premier League after a chaotic season of manager in and outs alongside large spending in the transfer window.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid have the Copa del Rey final against Osasuna to look forward to on May 6.
But they stand no chance of catching Barcelona at the top of LaLiga, meaning no European glory will be classed as a poor year.
What is their form like?
Frank Lampard’s first game back as Blues boss ended in a 1-0 defeat to Wolves.
Chelsea knocked out Borussia Dortmund in the last round while they were still under the stewardship of Graham Potter.
As for Real, they suffered a damaging 3-2 loss at home to Villarreal at the weekend, which leaves 13 points behind Barca.
But in Europe they have fared better, destroying Liverpool over two legs to progress to the quarter-finals of this year’s Champions League as they look to make it back-to-back triumphs in the competition.
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What is the team news and any injuries to worry about?
Real Madrid rested the likes of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Eder Militao and Eduardo Camavinga so they all should be fresh.
It remains to be seen whether Federico Valverde is chosen after allegedly punching Villarreal’s Alex Baena after a personal comment he apparently made to him at the weekend.
For the Blues, the match is set to come too soon for Mason Mount, Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta.
N’Golo Kante was surprisingly missing from Lampard’s first squad after coming back from injury the week before, but it was a precautionary decision.
Quartet Benoit Badiashile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Noni Madueke and David Datro Fofana are not in the team’s Champions League squad.
Who will be the star men?
Chelsea will be hoping Joao Felix will be the key to turning the tie in their favour.
The man on loan from Atletico Madrid should have extra motivation to beat his club’s city rivals and he has impressed in recent weeks.
It is hard to look away from the duo of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr, who tore apart Liverpool at Anfield in the last round.
Both scored brace in the 5-2 win two months ago at Anfield, with Benzema scoring the only goal of the game in the second game in Spain.
What have the managers said?
Carlo Ancelotti has been linked with a sensational return to Stamford Bridge, with owner Todd Boehly looking for a permanent boss for next season.
However, he did not hint he was heading back to London, saying: “Be back? No, I hope that Lampard is able to do a fantastic job with them.
“I have a fantastic memory of Chelsea. I am a supporter of the club. I won’t return there.
And Lampard knows he has a tough job on his hands, saying: “I didn’t expect to solve everything in one day.
“You have to have more aggression in your game, more speed and more competitive duels which go your way.
“The players need to be aware of that because without that you can’t win games. It was interesting to see anyway, I’m here to help with that. It’s not stinging criticism, I know there’s a lot of talent there.”
SunSport prediction
Chelsea do not look an attacking threat at the moment and going to the Bernabeu and getting a result is one of the hardest things to do in football.
This Real Madrid team have so much experience and European know-how compared to a Chelsea squad that lack cohesion following all the new signings and managerial changes.
Final Score: Real Madrid 2-0 Chelsea
When is Real Madrid vs Chelsea?
- Real Madrid’s mouth-watering Champions League first leg against Chelsea gets underway TONIGHT – Wednesday, April 12.
- It is scheduled to kick-off at 8pm UK time – 9pm local time.
- Bernabeu in Madrid is the allocated arena for this huge match and it can host approximately 81,044 fans.
- Madrid sent the Blues packing after a thrilling tie when the sides met last season.
What TV channel is it on and can it be live streamed?
- Real Madrid vs Chelsea will be broadcast LIVE on BT Sport 1 in the UK.
- Coverage is set to commence from 7pm UK time – a whole hour before kick-off.
- Subscription members of BT Sport can stream the entire action live via the BT Sport website or BT Sport app.
- Alternatively, SunSport will have minute-by-minute coverage of the game including build-up and post-match reaction.
What are the odds?
- Real Madrid to win 7/10
- Draw 27/10
- Chelsea to win 4/1
*Odds courtesy of Ladbrokes are correct at time of publication