Chelsea carry a slight advantage into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid, although it remains finely poised.
A 1-1 draw in Spain last week means Madrid must score at Stamford Bridge to have any chance of making the final – and as things stand, the Blues would go through on away goals.
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But Thomas Tuchel’s side look set to come up against a different Los Blancos outfit on Wednesday night – live on talkSPORT.
Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is expected to return after missing the whole of April due to a calf injury, while former Chelsea hero Eden Hazard is fit to feature from the start on his return to Stamford Bridge.
Hazard, who has suffered a torrid time with injuries since leaving the Blues in the summer of 2019, came on as a substitute during the first leg and started the La Liga clash with Osasuna on Saturday.
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However, while Madrid can call upon two key players who weren’t fully available last week, they look set to be without a couple of important men.
Right-back Dani Carvajal is out due to a hamstring injury, while Raphael Varane will also miss the match with an abductor problem.
Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane will desperately hope Ramos is fit to replace Varane, whose absence represents a huge blow for the visitors and a massive opportunity for their hosts.
AFP
Chelsea cut Madrid’s defence open on numerous occasions in the first leg, but wastefulness in the final third let the La Liga giants off the hook.
Thomas Tuchel rotated the pack for the 2-0 victory over Fulham on Saturday – with Jorginho, N’Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta all dropped to the bench.
Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic remained out due to injury and Antonio Rudiger was missing after suffering a problem in the last minute of the first leg against Madrid.
Tuchel hopes to have Rudiger available for the second leg against Madrid, although Kovacic looks unlikely to recover after suffering a further setback in training last week.
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But besides decisions that will be forced upon him, Tuchel also has some seriously difficult choices to make from the players who are available.
Kai Havertz, who was on the bench for the first leg, starred in the victory over Fulham on Saturday with two goals, making him difficult to ignore.
The £72m man could come in for fellow summer signing Timo Werner, who has just three goals since the start of November.
BT Sport
Elsewhere, Tuchel must decide between Kurt Zouma or Andreas Christensen alongside Silva and Rudiger in defence.
The rest of the starting XI from last week in Madrid look set to retain their places.
Zidane tried to match Chelsea’s three-at-the-back to poor effect last week, so expect to see Madrid revert back to their trusty 4-3-3 formation.
How Chelsea could line-up
How Real Madrid could line up
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