Chelsea head to the Bernabeu this week to take on Real Madrid but Thomas Tuchel will be without Romelu Lukaku for this 2nd leg of the quarter-final.
Romelu Lukaku missed last weekend’s Premier League tie due to an Achilles knock and that same problem has prevented him from travelling to Spain. Hudson-Odoi and Ben Chilwell still remain sidelined with injuries and along with these three players Ross Barkley will also miss out after falling sick.
But all is not bad news because Thomas Tuchel will see the return of Azpilicueta since he’s tested negative.
‘With the injury news, Callum Hudson-Odoi is still out and Ben Chilwell is of course out for a long time,’ Tuchel told the press.
‘Romelu will not travel due to his pain in the achilles that he has felt recently but Azpi is in the group. He has tested negative several times now and is okay to be part of the squad.
‘Ross Barkley is sick, however, and will not travel with us later. That is the situation right now and everyone else is in the squad.’
Will Romelu Lukaku be a big miss for Chelsea?
Romelu Lukaku has fallen down the pecking order in recent months so he will not be a big miss this week. He’s hardly made an impact for Chelsea this season and even if he was available, at best he would only come on as a sub during the 2nd half.
Kai Havertz, in the meantime, has been in great form and even Timo Werner scored a brace against the Saints this weekend.
All in all, we don’t know what the result of the Real Madrid vs Chelsea tie is going to be but we don’t think Thomas Tuchel will have any scruples about the absence of Romelu Lukaku.
Chelsea confirm Romelu Lukaku will miss their game against Real Madrid due to injury pic.twitter.com/387Vt8L5IN
— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 11, 2022
Will Azpilicueta replace Christensen?
Christensen had a nightmare time defending against Vinicius Jr in the 1st leg and even Thomas Tuchel admitted this after the match.
Reece James will obviously play as the right wing-back so there’s a chance that the Chelsea boss could use Azpi in place of Christensen as the third central defender.
Azpilicueta is not the paciest of defenders but the Chelsea pro has vast amounts of experience which could help the Blues shut out Real Madrid’s left flank on Tuesday.
