Real Madrid vs Chelsea

Estadio Santiago Bernabeu plays host to the second leg of a mouth-watering Champions League quarter-final tie between Real Madrid and Chelsea.

Real Madrid have one foot in the semi-finals after cruising to a 3-1 first-leg victory at Stamford Bridge, courtesy of Karim Benzema’s another stunning hat-trick. Coming into this Champions League, ‘Los Blancos’ pulled off a sensational second-leg comeback to oust star-studded PSG, so Carlo Ancelotti’s men cannot take anything for granted yet. However, they can draw inspiration from running out aggregate victors from nine of the last ten Champions League knock-out ties when winning the first leg away from home. Ancelotti could become only the third-ever manager to reach the Champions League semi-finals eight times. Madrid’s run of one defeat from their last nine home meetings with English clubs in the competition sounds promising (W5, D3). Likewise, they’ve won 13 of their last 16 competitive home outings (D2, L1).

In the meantime, Chelsea put on a rampant performance away to mid-table Premier League side Southampton at the weekend, picking up an overwhelming 6-0 triumph to lift the spirits ahead of this trip. Luckily for the ‘Blues,’ they may not need to score more than twice to progress into the next round, a feat they’ve only managed once away from home in the Champions League knock-out stages. Indeed, Thomas Tuchel’s men have won their last six competitive matches on hostile turf, netting 2+ goals on each occasion, which comes as a morale boost for the travelling fans. Curiously, though, 40% of Chelsea’s Champions League goals under Tuchel’s stewardship have come to Real Madrid star Benzema (4/10), so they should know who to keep an eye on in Spain. The reigning champions are unbeaten in their last four European games against Spanish clubs as nominated away team (W2, D2), yet only once have they won such a fixture by a margin of 2+ goals.