Don’t underestimate Chelsea

Thiago Silva is back

Last weekend, Real Madrid lost to Villarreal. This result may have ended any remaining hopes of “Los Blancos” of catching Barcelona in the race to win the Spanish league title this season. It also serves as a wake-up call before you are greeted. chelsea to the Bernabéu.

Fortunately for Real Madrid, Chelsea are playing very badly at the moment. The “Blues” were also defeated at the weekend (0-1 against Wolves) and recently said goodbye to coach Potter and brought in former player Lampard as interim coach until the end of the season. With Chelsea experiencing their worst season in this century, of course Real Madrid are considered a strong candidate for the semi-finals, with a 67.8% chance to Chelsea’s 32.2% (according to Opta).

However, nothing is certain in football, which is why caretaker manager Lampard has declared: “We have faith in the players.” Given his understanding of the scale of the task against Real Madrid, he will most likely rely on familiar and experienced faces in his squad.

In that situation, the fact that Thiago Silva has just returned to training after injury is considered a great motivation for Chelsea, although it is not known whether he is in physical condition to start the game or not. Silva is an important player for Chelsea even though he is 38 years old. When he’s fit, he’s still one of the best centre-backs in the world.

On the other hand, Real Madrid must also remember that although Chelsea have performed poorly in domestic competitions this season, the same cannot be said for their performance in the Champions League. Therefore, it would be a mistake to underestimate “The Blues” and not prepare the best for tomorrow’s game.

Be careful with Valverde

Real Madrid is the only representative of Spain to reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League after Barcelona, ​​Atlético and Sevilla were eliminated in the group stage. The whites easily beat Liverpool in the round of 16 and now there is another English team in front of them.

In the Real Madrid squad it is easy to praise Vinicius, Benzema or Modric, especially after this trio destroyed Barcelona in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals last week. However, it would be a mistake for Chelsea’s defense not to include Valverde, the leader in creating opening chances for Real Madrid in the Champions League this season (16 times).

Valverde can continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Benzema and Vinicius in Real Madrid’s attack to continuously attack Chelsea’s defensive system, which is still quite flawed. It is also a way of compensating coach Ancelotti for his not-so-close defense. Besides, the fact that some key players have rested during the weekend will help to keep the legs of the ‘whites’ fresher.

So while Chelsea have often played very well against the Champions League holders in recent seasons, Opta’s supercomputer still gives them just a 20.1% chance of winning the quarter-final first leg. final, compared to 56.4% of Real Madrid.