Chelsea and Real Madrid meet in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday, April 6.
On TV
The pitch
Last season the two sides met in the semi-finals, a 2-0 home win at Stamford Bridge sealing a 3-1 aggregate win for the English. N’Golo Kanté had been brilliant, winning the player of the match award back and forth (and in the final!) and he will probably be one of the key players once more. But watch out for another Frenchman, Karim Benzema. He has already eliminated Kylian Mbappé in the round of 16.
Latest compositions
Chelsea: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rüdiger, Alonso; Kanté, Jorginho, Kovacic; Havertz, Pulisic
Suspension to the next carton : Loftus-Cheek
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Éder Militão, Alaba, Nacho; Modric, Kroos, Valverde; Asensio, Benzema, Vinícius Júnior
Suspension to the next carton : Éder Militão
Away goals rule abolished
There has been a rule change for 2021/22: in the event of an aggregate draw, away goals will no longer make the difference, instead extra time will be played and, if necessary, a penalty shootout.
Declarations
Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea, coach
It’s a big challenge, but there’s a bit of excitement around this game and this encounter. We know what awaits us. It will be an exciting game and a tough challenge.
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos
They are the defending champions, so it mightn’t be more difficult for us, but we have to focus on ourselves. If we play well, anything is possible.
The venue for the 2022 final
The Stade de France, in Saint-Denis, will host the final on Saturday May 28 at 9 p.m.
The winners earn a place in the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stage, if they did not qualify through their domestic competition.
