In
all honesty, the Blues should be taking a lead heading into the clash at
Stamford Bridge, but as things stand, the match is still on a knife-edge.
Christian
Pulisic’s away goal in Madrid could prove pivotal, though, and if they can keep
things tight at the back, Chelsea do have a massive chance of progressing to
the final.
Press
the next page as we try to predict Chelsea’s starting lineup for tomorrow
evening.
GK – Edouard Mendy
The 29-year-old was excellent against Fulham at the weekend,
with his save from Ola Aina in the second half a standout moment as he kept yet
another clean sheet.
If Mendy manages to keep out the opponents tomorrow then he
would have guaranteed Chelsea’s passage to the final in Turkey later this
month.
RWB – Cesar Azpilicueta
Reece
James did very little wrong versus Fulham, but after resting Azplicueta at the
weekend, Tuchel is expected to recall the club captain for the Real clash.
The
Spaniard performed well to keep Vinicius Jnr quiet in the first leg and he will
no doubt be handed the same task for the return fixture.
CB – Andreas Christensen
The Dane is nearly as likely to drop out as James, if Tuchel
opts to select Azpilicueta at centre-back instead, but as the 25-year-old
started the first leg, there is no real justification to take him out of the
side.
Christensen has looked far more comfortable playing in a back
three, and he’ll be looking to keep yet another clean sheet at Stamford Bridge
today's night.
CB – Thiago Silva
It was a surprise to see the Brazilian start against Fulham at
the weekend, knowing what we know about the 36-year-old’s fitness.
There is a four-day gap between the win over the Cottagers and
the game against Real, though, so you would hope that Silva will have enough
time to recover so he can start the match.
CB – Antonio Rudiger
Tuchel has confirmed that the German
international should be available, with the defender expected to wear a mask in
order to protect a facial injury.
Rudiger is one of Tuchel’s most trusted players, having started
the vast majority of matches since the German’s arrival in January, so if he is
available, he will almost certainly be named in the eleven.
LWB – Ben Chilwell
The 24-year-old is looking more and more comfortable playing as
a wingback, so there is no real reason why he would be rotated out of the team
tomorrow evening.
Chilwell’s defensive attributes will also be needed if they come
under any pressure from Real, as the Spanish side look to get themselves ahead
in the tie.
CM – N’Golo Kante
The France international was rested at the weekend, with the
Real fixture in mind, so he is guaranteed to be recalled to the starting lineup
ahead of Billy Gilmour.
Kante will be tasked with breaking up opposition attacks, and if
he is anywhere near his best, he could be crucial to securing a second-leg
result.
CM – Jorginho
Like Kante, the Italian was benched for Saturday’s win over
Fulham and a full week’s rest should do him the world of good considering the
number of matches he has been playing recently.
With Mateo Kovacic unlikely to be fit, Tuchel will be heavily
reliant on Jorginho and Kante to control the game in the middle of the park.
AM – Mason Mount
There are some concerns about the midfielder’s fitness after
picking up what looked like a back problem at the weekend.
After the match, Tuchel downplayed the seriousness of the issue
so it is expected that Mount will be named in the starting eleven tomorrow.
CF – Christian Pulisic
Dropping Kai Havertz would be a controversial decision after his
brace against Fulham, but Tuchel is a “horses for courses” manager.
The Blues are not expected to control the whole game tomorrow
night and Pulisic’s ability to break from deep and make long lung-bursting runs
forward on the ball could be important to relieve pressure.
CF – Timo Werner
The
German remains an enigma. His all-round game is good enough to merit a place in
the first eleven, but he is not doing the job he was bought to do: score goals.
After
missing a massive chance in the first leg, Werner will be hoping to redeem
himself by getting on the scoresheet in the return fixture.
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