Champions League: Frank Lampard's Chelsea eye historic turnaround against Real Madrid; Milan eye SF berth

Frank Lampard’s Chelsea will look to overturn a 0-2 deposit against Real Madrid from the first leg as they try to make the semifinal of the Champions League. The second leg between Chelsea and Real Madrid will take place at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening where the home fans will be hoping for a remarkable comeback. The evening will also see AC Milan eye a last four berth as they look to consolidate their 1-0 lead from the first leg against Napoli.

Historically, whenever Chelsea and Real have met in the knockout stage, the winner of the tie has gone on to win the competition. Real won the London leg in the 2022 quarterfinal while they lost the semifinal leg in 2021. A win for them will see them book a last four berth for the third consecutive season. The match will also see the return of Carlo Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge, having served as the Chelsea manager from 2009 to 2011.

In five competitive matches between the sides, both Real and Chelsea have won two matches each while they share a solitary draw from the first leg at Santiago Bernabeu in the 2021 semifinal.

Thiago Silva and N'Golo Kante were not part of the squad to face Brighton with the second leg in mind, while recalls for Reece James, Joao Felix and Mateo Kovacic should also be in the squad for the Tuesday evening clash.

Vinicius Junior and Toni Kroos both missed the first leg with muscular overload alongside calf victim Ferland Mendy. While the latter is definitely out, both Kroos and Vinicius should be good to go after their precautionary absences.

In the evening’s other tie, Italian giants Napoli will look to come from behind at home against a resolute AC Milan. Napoli lost the first leg 0-1 while they were recently battered 0-4 by AC Milan in the Italian Serie A. A repeat of that performance will see the seven-time champions seal a last four place while a defeat by a two-goal margin will see Napoli go through and play the winner of Benfica and Inter Milan.

Chelsea's possible starting lineup:

Kepa; James, Fofana, Silva, Cucurella; Fernandez, Kante, Kovacic; Mudryk, Havertz, Felix

Real Madrid's possible starting lineup:

Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Camavinga; Modric, Valverde, Kroos; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius Jr

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