Real Madrid vs Chelsea preview: How to watch on TV, live stream, team news & prediction
By Tom Gott
It's Champions League semi-final time, and on Tuesday, Chelsea will kick off their tie by travelling to Spain to meet Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid.
Real booked their place in this round with a comfortable victory over Liverpool in the quarter-final, and they will be looking for a big win to set them up for a run at their first European trophy since 2018.
To do so, they will have to go through a Chelsea side that looked nowhere near ready to reach this point just a few months ago. Thomas Tuchel has reinvented the Blues and has turned them into a real dark horse for this competition.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of the game.
Where to watch on TV
When is the match? Tuesday 27 April
What time is kick off? 20:00 (BST)
Where is it being played? Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano
TV Channel? BT Sport 2 (UK), CBSSN & fuboTV (US)
Referee? Danny Makkelie
Real Madrid team news
Zidane recently confirmed that Eden Hazard is ready for a reunion with his former employers, while midfielder Toni Kroos is also available after missing the last three games as part of an injury prevention treatment.
However, the game will come too soon for left-back Ferland Mendy, whose calf injury will keep him on the sidelines alongside the injured trio of Sergio Ramos, Federico Valverde and Lucas Vazquez.
Chelsea team news
Chelsea come into this game at close to full strength. The only significant absence is former Real midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who picked up a hamstring problem in training last week and has not been seen since. Billy Gilmour has been training with the squad but his chances of earning rare minutes appear slim.
Tuchel rested a number of his big names for the recent 1-0 win over West Ham, so expect the likes of Kai Havertz and Reece James to slot back into the starting lineup here.
Predicted lineups
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Varane, Militao, Nacho; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric; Asensio, Benzema, Vinicius.
Chelsea: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Silva; James, Jorginho, Kante, Chilwell; Mount, Werner; Havertz.
Recent form
Real Madrid
Real Madrid 0-0 Real Betis (24/04)
Cadiz 0-3 Real Madrid (21/04)
Getafe 0-0 Real Madrid (18/04)
Liverpool 0-0 Real Madrid (14/04)
Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona (10/04)
Chelsea
West Ham 0-1 Chelsea (24/04)
Chelsea 0-0 Brighton (20/04)
Chelsea 1-0 Manchester City (17/04)
Chelsea 0-1 Porto (13/04)
Crystal Palace 1-4 Chelsea (10/04)
Prediction
Real will come into this one as narrow favourites, although their recent form hardly inspires confidence. Three goalless draws in their last five games isn't exactly the best way to prepare for a game of this magnitude.
Los Blancos have a stuttering attack and they're coming up against a Chelsea defence that has been incredibly tough to beat since Tuchel's arrival. Fortunately for Real, Chelsea's attack is just as uninspiring.
All the signs suggest there won't be many goals in this one. It might be decided by one moment of class, and of the two sides, it's Real who have the better chance of offering that up.
Prediction: Real Madrid 1-0 Chelsea