Chelsea vs Real Madrid Preview

Chelsea will welcome Real Madrid to Stamford Bridge this Tuesday for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie.

The Blues will require one of their greatest-ever European performances if they are to overhaul a two-goal deficit in the first leg. Their performance at the weekend ahead of this game does not inspire any confidence.

Manager Frank Lampard described the 2-1 defeat to Brighton at the weekend as “not a Chelsea performance.” That result made it six winless competitive games for the hosts (D2, L4), with their last competitive win coming in a 2-0 win against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

Given that they lost the first leg of that game against BVB 1-0 before winning 2-0 in the second leg at Stamford Bridge, they could be inspired this time to produce another strong result at home in a European game.

That turnaround in the last round should ensure that Real Madrid travel to Stamford Bridge with no hint of complacency. Los Blancos are desperate to win the UCL this year, having already effectively lost out of the La Liga title due to an eleven-point gap behind Barcelona.

However, their chances of a win here could be affected given that they are sweating on the fitness of key men Toni Kroos and Vinícius Júnior who were injury absentees.

But with last month’s remarkable 5-2 win over Liverpool fresh in their memory, Carlo Ancoletti’s men have now won three of their last four clashes with English clubs outside of Spain (L1), including last season’s 3-1 victory here.

Don’t expect the reigning champions to hold back after they netted in each of their last seven UCL fixtures on foreign soil (W4, D1, L2).