Chelsea take on Real Madrid in the quarter-final of the Champions League and they go into the first leg at the back of a 4-1 loss to Brentford.
The Blues had a really poor outing on Saturday and this loss will give Madrid a lot of hope, especially after their own recent humiliation to Barcelona in the El Classico.
Chelsea had been in a fine run of form before the international break but this massive loss has come out of nowhere and it has also raised a lot of questions regarding Chelsea’s defence.
The manager used a conventional four-man defence on Saturday and this formation once again proved that Antonio Rudiger is only great when he is playing in a three-man central defence. Tuchel though is not going to risk using the same system in midweek and he is promptly going to shift to his favoured 3-4-2-1 formation.
The Chelsea boss also changed his system because he wanted to rest several players before the 1st leg but most of them will come back into the starting line-up on Wednesday.
Chelsea have a pretty good recent record in the Champions League but with no away goal rules in play, we expect Real Madrid to be a lot less cautious at the Bridge.
Chelsea team news & injury updates vs Real Madrid:
Rudiger and Thiago Silva were a bit underwhelming on Saturday but they will have cover in midweek as Christensen will come back into the first XI.
Wise words.@tsilva3 pic.twitter.com/l9MQOANA2Z
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 3, 2022
Both Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic did not feature in the starting line up vs the Bees but the pair will come back into the side for the 1st leg. Reece James is another player who will come in, after having played as a sub on Saturday.
Real Madrid’s midfield is their biggest asset so there’s also a chance that Tuchel might opt to use Kante alongside Jorginho just to break the play up. And maybe Kovacic can then come in for the final 30-odd minutes.
The forward line is where all the issues are for Chelsea since Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku have both failed to deliver. Werner started on Saturday but once again, he had a poor outing.
😯 Alisson has created more clear-cut goalscoring chances (1) than Timo Werner (0 in 14 apps) in the Premier League this season pic.twitter.com/7YyM7Y2lwr
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) March 25, 2022
One would imagine that Lukaku should be facing a team like Real Madrid but we think the manager is going to keep him on the bench and continue with the in-form Kai Havertz.
A change in formation also means Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech are going to play as the link between the central midfield and the forward.
Christian Pulisic arrived late from international duty which is why he was rested for Saturday’s game but the American international will be back in contention for the Champions League tie.
Kick-off details:
Kick-off timing: 6th April 2022, 20:00 GMT
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Prediction:
Chelsea 1-2 Real Madrid
Odds:
Chelsea to win: 2.05
Draw: 3.4
Real Madrid: 3.5
Stats via Fotmob.
