Real Madrid vs Chelsea Preview
Real Madrid and Chelsea face off in the first UEFA Champions League semifinals this Tuesday. The majority of the fans are focused on the other pair, which involves Manchester City and PSG, but we strongly believe that this matchup is going to bring more drama and thrill. Zidane and Tuchel are fantastic tacticians, and even though both Los Blancos and Blues don’t have high efficient affairs too often, the intensity of play on the pitch is incredible. That makes them interesting to watch.
Real Madrid vs Chelsea Schedule
- Where: Alfredo di Stefano Stadium, Madrid, Spain
- When: Tuesday, April 27, 3 pm ET
- How to Watch: CBS
Real Madrid vs Chelsea Odds
| Real Madrid | Draw | Chelsea |
|---|---|---|
| +130 | +230 | +210 |
Benzema Needs to Wake Up
The French striker has been an essential part of this team for a long time. He would single-handedly bring Real the title last year, having a superb campaign following the restart. Benzema already reached 27 goals in all competitions this year. But in the recent few weeks, he wasn’t that efficient.
Real couldn’t score in three of the past four games, which is pretty worrying for both the fans and Zidane. With all due respect to other players, if Benzema doesn’t score, Real’s chances of winning are much, much slimmer. That is why the Spanish champs posted only one triumph during this interval
On the other side, the positive thing for Los Blancos is their defense, which posted four clean sheets in a row during this shady period. Just to add, that the backline appeared without Sergio Ramos, the club icon.
Same Story With Chelsea – Excellent Defense, Poor Attack
Chelsea plays well and has solid results, but lately, the Blues also have problems in the offense. In four events, Tuchel’s boys notched two 1-0 wins, played 0-0 against Brighton at home, and lost in Seville against Porto, 0-1. Ziyech, Werner, Giroud, Abraham, and the rest of the scorers aren’t reaching their potential.
But the Blues’ defense is covering up everything. In 11 of the past 15 games, they would keep clean sheets, which is remarkable, especially when you play in the English Premier League.
All this is because of Thomas Tuchel, who replaced Frank Lampard, immediately introducing changes in the philosophy of play. Under the German, the defense comes first, and attack later.
Real Madrid vs Chelsea Head to Head
Real and Chelsea didn’t meet too often. They had two friendly matches in the International Champions Cup in 2013 and 2016. On both occasions, the Spaniards were better, 3-2 and 3-1. However, back in 1998, Chelsea defeated Real in UEFA Super Cup, 1-0. Gus Poyet was the scorer in the 83rd minute.
Real Madrid vs Chelsea Pick
Tuchel will prepare a conservative gameplan, waiting for a chance to use Werner and his pace to create trouble from some counter-attack. Zidane knows that, and he already faced a similar team in the previous round, Liverpool, so we can expect him to apply the same tactics as then. If you remember, the French head coach also waited for counters. All this forces us to bet on low-efficiency, under 2.5 goals, with the odds at -160.
