Holders Chelsea play host to 13-time champions Real Madrid in a titanic UEFA Champions League 2021-22 quarter-final first leg match at Stamford Bridge, London tonight. The tie is a replay of one of the last season's sem-final, which the Blues won 3-1 on aggregate. (More Football News)
The Chelsea vs Real Madrid, UEFA Champions League match will be telecast live on Sony Ten 2 SD/HD, Sony Ten 3/HD and Sony Ten 4/HD channels. Fans can also stream the match live on SonyLiv and JioTV. The match starts at 12:30 AM IST (Thursday). In another match tonight, Villarreal face Bayern Munich at the iconic El Madrigal, Villarreal, Spain.
Despite the continued uncertainty surrounding Chelsea's imminent sale, Thomas Tuchel's Blues have done well in the title defence campaign, beating Lille 4-1 on aggregate in the previous round. But they were humbled 1-4 by Brentford in their Premier League outing before the big clash against Real Madrid.
Real Madrid produced a scintillating performance in their last 16 second leg match against a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side 3-2 on aggregate to book a quarterfinal. But Carlo Ancelotti's men were hammered by Barcelona in El Clasico before two Karim Benzema, again, penalties salvaged a 2-1 against Celta Vigo.
Ancelotti was in doubt for the London visit after showing COVID-19 symptoms, but hours before the match, Real Madrid revealed that the manager will join the team after returning a negative result.
Chelsea vs Real Madrid Head-to-head
Real Madrid are winless against Chelsea. In the five previous meetings, Chelsea have won twice. The other two meetings have ended in draws.
In fact, Real Madrid's last away win against an English side in the UEFA Champions League was against Liverpool (3-) during the 2014-15 season.
Likely XIs
Chelsea: Edouard Mendy; Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Reece James, N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, Marcos Alonso; Hakim Ziyech, Mason Mount; Kai Havertz.
Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois; Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy; Luka Modric, Casemiro, Toni Kroos; Marco Asensio, Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr.
