There are only five matches left to play in this season’s UEFA Champions League and the first one of the remaining games will be a semi-final first leg between Real Madrid and Chelsea on Tuesday.
Bookmaker 10Bet expects a tight and tactical battle at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano with goals at a premium. The odds for under 2.5 goals are at 1.64 and you can back the game to finish goalless with the odds at 7.00.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: April 26th, 1:00 P.M. (EST)
It’s the first head-to-head meeting for the two since an 83rd-minute Gustavo Poyet goal secured Chelsea a UEFA Super Cup win over Real in 1998.
Real heads into the encounter on a 17-game unbeaten run across all competitions, but they can’t be happy with their recent results. Zinedine Zidane’s side has played out three goalless draws in the past four games.
The defensive record is impressive, especially with Sergio Ramos out since April 1, but the lack of goals must be a huge worry for Zidane whose team has slipped to second place in La Liga. However, better days could be on the horizon after Eden Hazard returned to action on Saturday against Real Betis.
It’s a very special matchup for Hazard of course after the Belgian spent seven years at Chelsea. He put up 110 goals and 92 assists in 352 games for the Blues winning the FWA Player of the Year and the PFA Player of the Year awards in 2014-15.
Sadly Hazard hasn’t gotten anywhere near to his best form in Madrid with injuries limiting him to only 37 appearances in two seasons across all competitions. He has recorded four goals and seven assists for Real.
Hazard’s absence was a big miss for Chelsea last season, but following some heavy spending, the team is nicely set up for success on multiple fronts. The club is chasing its first Champions League win since 2012 and also has a FA Cup final to look forward to next month.
Thomas Tuchel has a deep bench at his disposal and had the luxury to make six changes for Saturday’s 1-0 win at West Ham. He’s set to ring the changes here again to keep the side fresh for all the upcoming challenges.
Tuchel has won 14 of 21 matches in charge of Chelsea ahead of the marquee matchup against Real. He also boasts an unbeaten record in previous meetings with Spanish clubs winning three times and playing out three draws.
The German now has to improve Chelsea’s results against Spanish teams with the Blues having won only three of 12 away knockout matches against Spanish sides in UEFA competitions.
