Real Madrid vs Chelsea: Team news, predicted line-ups and where to watch

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FOOTBALL Real Madrid vs Chelsea: Team news, predicted line-ups and where to watch

Joel Omotto • 12:40 - 12.04.2023

The Champions League holders welcome the struggling Premier League side seeking to defend their European crown with the LaLiga title all but gone

Real Madrid face Chelsea in the 2022-23 Champions League quarter-final stage as they look to retain their European title.

It is the third consecutive season where these two sides have met in the knockout stages of this competition.

During the 2020-21 season, Chelsea won 3-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals before winning the trophy against Manchester City. Real Madrid secured a 5-4 aggregate win in this same round last year on their way to their 14th Champions League trophy.

Match preview

Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League while Real Madrid are 13 points off Barcelona at the top of La Liga. Both teams will be looking to go deep in the tournament to try and salvage something from a poor overall season so far.

On the other hand, former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti will certainly need to go on a good run in this campaign. Losing out on the league title to their biggest rivals would only be acceptable if they won Europe's biggest club competition.

The winner of the tie has a daunting task in the semi-final against either Bayern Munich or Manchester City with the Premier League champions taking a giant step following their 3-0 victory over the Bundesliga giants on Tuesday.

Team news

The Real Madrid medical team are only looking after one injured player in the shape of Ferland Mendy, who is still recuperating from a calf injury sustained in training last month, and he should be the hosts' only absentee for this contest.

Ancelotti did not shy away from resting several big names for the defeat to Villarreal, and the likes of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Eder Militao and Eduardo Camavinga, who played the full 90 in both legs against Liverpoo, should all be in line for recalls to the starting lineup.

As for Chelsea, Mason Mount would be eligible to return from a Champions League suspension for the first leg, but a recurrence of the Englishman's abdominal issue means that he is a doubt for the Bernabeu battle, despite travelling with the squad.

Armando Broja (knee) and Cesar Azpilicueta (head) are still on the road to recovery, but Thiago Silva has made the journey, and the quartet of Benoit Badiashile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Noni Madueke and David Datro Fofana are not part of the Blues' Champions League squad.

Real Madrid possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba; Modric, Camavinga, Kroos; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Kepa; James, Fofana, Koulibaly, Chilwell; Kovacic, Fernandez, Kante; Sterling, Havertz, Felix

When and where to watch

The match will kick off at 10pm and will be broadcast live on SuperSport TV.