Date: Tuesday 18th April
2023
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Here we
are again, just days after our woeful defeat to Brighton at Stamford Bridge, a
defeat that allegedly prompted a bit of verbal from Side Show Todd in the
dressing room, tonight we take on Real Madrid in a game that will put the tin
hat on our miserable season.
You would
never write Chelsea off in a Champions League tie, in fact, you would rarely
write us off in most games because it’s typical of Chelsea to turn up when you
do that – it’s a Chelsea thing! That was then though, and this is now. This
Chelsea is a very different beast – because it’s more of a sloth. A very ambivalent,
non-committal, unmotivated, ‘just want the season over’ sort of creature.
We don’t
win games, we’ve scored once in five games. I mean we barely break into a sweat
anymore. Real Madrid meanwhile, have progressed
from 18 of their 19 Champions League knockout ties when they’ve won the first
leg by at least two clear goals.
So, I
reckon we could go out tonight- probably by a large margin.
MANAGER’S VIEWS
Going into
tonight’s game, Chelsea manager, Frank Lampard, says “We are not where we want to be. That’s clear, but I think the word
broken is a bit much. The league position is a reality, and we are 2-0 down in
this game. We have to work against that. We’ll
give everything, we want to go through the tie. Every game you play for Chelsea
is an opportunity to win games and particularly with our form this season to
try and get back to a consistent feeling that it is possible.
I have no doubt it [the atmosphere] will
be positive. It is down to us as a team to play with desire and know-how to
turn this game around. I’ve been here too many times on a Champions League
night at Stamford Bridge not to understand that the atmosphere is going to be
great. It is down to us to engage the crowd. They can help us.”
Real
Madrid manager, Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, says “Chelsea has a difficult moment. I’m thinking the game tomorrow can be a
great opportunity for them to move from this situation. We’re aware of this. Ninety
minutes remain and in this type of competition anything can happen. We’ll be
ready to play at our best.”
SQUAD NEWS
For Chelsea,
Armando Broja (ACL), and Kalidou Koulibaly (hamstring) are injured and Carney
Chukwuemeka (knock), Kai Havertz (knee) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (back) face late
tests. Ben Chilwell is suspended.
For Real
Madrid, Vinicius Junior and Toni Kroos didn’t play at the weekend but will be
expected back. Ferland Mendy is likely to miss out.
TEAMS
CHELSEA (Possible line-up): Kepa; James, Fofana, Thiago Silva, Cucurella; Enzo, Kante, Kovacic;
Mudryk, Havertz, Felix
REAL MADRID
(Possible line-up): Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Camavinga; Modric,
Valverde, Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr
LAST MEETING
Real Madrid 2-0 Chelsea
(12th April 2023)
FORM (CL)
CHELSEA: WWWLWL
REAL MADRID: DLWWWW
OTHER STUFF
- Chelsea have lost two of their past three
European matches against Real Madrid
- Chelsea hadn’t lost any of their first
five against Real Madrid before this.
- Chelsea suffered a 2-0 defeat away in
the first leg.
- Chelsea have progressed from five of
their past seven Champions League ties when losing away from home first.
- Chelsea progressed from their last 16 tie
this campaign despite losing the first leg at Borussia Dortmund.
- Only two sides have reached the
semi-final after overcoming first leg deficits in both the last 16 and
quarter-final in a season
PREDICTION
Sportsmole: Chelsea 1-2 Real Madrid (1-4 agg)
