Chelsea v Real Madrid predictions: Blues can progress to the final in style

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for the Champions League semi-final second leg between Chelsea and Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 2, 8pm Wednesday

Best bet

Chelsea
2pts 6-5 general

Team news

Chelsea
The Blues could name the same 11 who started in Madrid as Antonio Rudiger is available after missing the weekend win over Fulham. Mateo Kovacic remains sidelined.

Real Madrid
Raphael Varane joins Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez on the injured list but Sergio Ramos, Ferland Mendy and Fede Valverde return to the squad.

Match preview

Thomas Tuchel admitted he was frustrated that Chelsea failed to win the away leg of their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid but a 1-1 draw sets the Blues up nicely for the return fixture at Stamford Bridge.

Zinedine Zidane famously led Real to a hat-trick of Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018 but Tuchel, who took Paris St-Germain to the final last season, could end the Frenchman's hopes of another European title.

Zizou's men were underwhelming in the home leg, when top scorer Karim Benzema's excellent first-half equaliser was their only shot on target, and they may struggle to turn the tie around in west London.

Benzema also hit the outside of the post from distance but overall Chelsea looked the brighter attacking threat on a rainy night in Madrid.

Timo Werner should have scored from four yards out before Christian Pulisic's smartly-taken 14th-minute opener as the Blues' pacy front two caused problems for Real.

With Kai Havertz also pushing for a start after his brace against Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday, Chelsea have enough attacking options to seal progress to the final in style.

Their outstanding defensive record since Tuchel's arrival in January is a major boost to their chances as Pulisic's away goal means a 0-0 draw would take them through.

But the threat of Benzema, who has scored 13 goals in his last 15 appearances, means Chelsea cannot bank on holding out for a stalemate and they are worth backing for a second-leg victory over their under-pressure visitors.

Real have rarely blown away opponents during Zidane's second spell in charge. Their 2019-20 La Liga title campaign was built on a defence who conceded only 25 goals in 38 games and this term they have scored only 58 times in 34 matches – three fewer than leaders Atletico Madrid and 22 fewer than Barcelona.

Atletico can testify to the difficulty of breaking down Chelsea, having lost 2-0 at Stamford Bridge as the Blues sealed a 3-0 aggregate win in the last 16.

Benzema's volley in Madrid was the only goal Chelsea have conceded in their last five matches including an FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City and a 1-0 victory at top-four rivals West Ham.

Real's defensive plans have been disrupted by an injury to key centre-back Raphael Varane. Dani Carvajal is also sidelined, Sergio Ramos and Ferland Mendy must prove their fitness after missing the first leg, and Marcelo may join the squad late after serving at a polling station for local elections.

Chelsea, then, should get punters' votes against a Real side who kept a clean sheet on their last visit to England, the 0-0 quarter-final second-leg draw at Liverpool last month. The Reds had 13 shots from inside the box that night and the Blues can also expect chances as the Madrid men push on for an away goal.

Key stat

Chelsea have kept ten clean sheets in their last 11 games at Stamford Bridge in all competitions.

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