Real Madrid head to England for the second leg of the Champions League semi-final this week and Zidane’s men have a lot to do if they wish to get into the finals.
The first leg ended with a scoreline of 1-1 so it’s pretty much advantage Chelsea and there’s every chance Thomas Tuchel will look to kill off the pace and momentum in the second leg, especially since they play on their own turf.
The Blues have been rock-solid in defence under their new boss and if Madrid’s midfield fails to function just like they did in the first leg, there’s no doubt the Spanish side are going to crash out.
To make matters worse, the Real Madrid boss has a series of injury absentees, the latest one being defender Raphael Varane. The manager does have the option to name a good-enough line-up but with so many injuries, Chelsea will surely be fairing their chances.
Real Madrid team news vs Chelsea:
Varane picked up an injury during Madrid’s weekend La Liga win vs Osasuna and the club have confirmed that the defender will not be available for selection on Wednesday.
“After the tests carried out today on our player Raphael Varane by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he was diagnosed with an injury to the right adductor muscle,” Real Madrid said in a statement on Monday.
The absence of Raphael Varane is a big issue for Zidane since Sergio Ramos is not also back to full fitness as he did not feature against Osasuna like it had been claimed.
So if Ramos is not a 100% then Nacho and Militao will feature in central defence with either Mendy or Marcelo playing in at left-back. Vazquez and Carvajal are both ruled out with injuries so Odriozola will be playing at right-back at Stamford Bridge.
Marcelo has been drafted for polling duty but Zidane has assured that the Brazilian will be available for selection on Wednesday.
A few days ago, the manager had said, as per Goal: “Marcelo will fulfill his obligations but on Wednesday he will be with us.”
Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric will play in the midfield with Marco Asensio operating as the right winger.
Eden Hazard had a very underwhelming game vs Osasuna during the weekend and it will be interesting to see if Zidane opts to use the former Chelsea man on Wednesday or does he stick with Vinicius Jr on the right wing.
