Real Madrid look a surefire semi-finalist

Trophy holders Real Madrid host Chelsea in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. Carlo Ancelotti's men have a good 2-0 lead and are favorites to advance. A week ago, they had the class of their opponent and prevailed after goals from Karim Benzema (21') and Marco Asensio (74').

On paper at least, Chelsea are underdogs also because of their unconvincing form, having lost four of their last five matches in all competitions. So far, the appointment of Frank Lampard as manager has not led to a change in the game. At the other pole are the Spaniards - four wins in the past five matches.

Still, Chelsea are not to be written off because just a year ago at this time, the team were on the verge of a sensational turnaround in the aggregate. Then the two teams were again rivals at this stage of the SHL, and Real had won the first match at "Stamford Bridge" with 3:1.

In the second leg at the Bernabeu, the Blues won 3:0, which would have qualified them for the semi-finals. However, the La Liga champions managed to pull a goal back to send the game into extra-time, where the hosts converted once more and went on to win the trophy.

Now Lampard will not be able to rely on Ben Chilwell, who received a red card in the first leg. Due to an injury from the same clash, Kalidou Koulibaly is also out. New defensive signing Benoit Badiashil has no record for the Champions League. Kai Havertz is questionable due to knee pain. Ancelotti has no such problems, Ferland Mendy being the only absentee, but the team has long been used to playing without him.

Toni Kroos, Vinicius Junior, Eduardo Camavinga and Luka Modric were all rested in the last game, with the former two not even in the group and the Frenchman and Croatian only logging a few minutes each. The winner of this pair will play Manchester City or Bayern (Munich) in the semi-finals. In this duel, the English team has a lead of 3:0.

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