Chelsea travel to Spain on Tuesday to play the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid.
The Blues beat West Ham United 1-0 on Saturday. Meanwhile, Real Madrid were held to a goalless draw by Real Betis last time out.
Chilly 🔗 Timo!The match-winning combination... pic.twitter.com/3UjC3tT4xf— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 25, 2021
Chilly 🔗 Timo!The match-winning combination... pic.twitter.com/3UjC3tT4xf
Despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession and chalking up 17 attempts, Zinedine Zidane’s side were frustrated by Betis.
Los Blancos now find themselves second in La Liga – level with third-place Barcelona on 71 points and one point ahead of fourth-place Sevilla.
It is worth noting that Real Madrid haven’t lost any of their previous 13 league games, picking up nine wins and four draws in that time.
In the Champions League, Zidane’s men saw off Atalanta (4-1 agg) in the last 16 before overcoming Liverpool (3-1 agg) in the quarter-finals.
Karim Benzema is Real’s top scorer this season, having netted 27 goals in 39 games – including five goals in eight Champions League appearances.
On the flip side, fourth-place Chelsea now have a three-point lead over fifth-place West Ham in the Premier League.
The Blues beat the Hammers thanks to a Timo Werner goal at the weekend, while the Hammers only managed two shots on target.
Chelsea have only lost one of their 14 league matches since Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard back in January.
After seeing off Atletico Madrid (3-0 agg) in the round of 16, Chelsea overcame Porto (2-1) to book their spot in the semi-finals.
Looking at the bigger picture, Chelsea have suffered just two defeats in 21 matches since Tuchel arrived at the club.
Head-to-head: Funnily enough, Real Madrid and Chelsea have never faced each other in the Champions League before.
However, Chelsea beat Real to the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971 before beating Madrid in the 1998 UEFA Super Cup.
Team news: Real Madrid will be without injured quartet Lucas Vazquez, Sergio Ramos, Ferland Mendy and Federico Valverde on Tuesday.
Chelsea only have one injury concern at the moment, with midfielder Mateo Kovacic a doubt for the first leg.
Remarkably, Chelsea have kept 16 clean sheets in 21 games since Tuchel took over (76%). With that in mind, the Blues look set to frustrate the hosts on Tuesday.
Forebet predicts that Real Madrid and Chelsea will produce a goalless draw in the first leg, setting up a huge second leg next week.