3 reasons why Real Madrid will beat Chelsea at home on Tuesday

Real Madrid faces Chelsea on Tuesday in the semifinals of the Champions League. After dropping points against Real Betis in the weekend, Los Blancos have their title hopes fading. As such, they are expected to push harder for the Champions League; it honestly seems like their most realistic shot at any silverware this unpredictable season. Especially after being hit so bad by injuries and being on thin eyes after the whole Super League fiasco. Here are the reasons why Real Madrid will win against the Blues at home on Tuesday.

1. The back three will be a tactical success

Real Madrid will still be missing Lucas Vazquez and Ferland Mendy who are their vital pieces to a mostly used 4-3-3 formation. With them out, three center backs featuring in 3-4-3 seems to be the likely choice for Zinedine Zidane. We saw the return of Dani Carvajal, obviously a big plus before an important fixture. He alongside Odriozola or Marcelo can feature in the wing-back roles. The point of interest here is that a three at the back could be a big asset to have on-field for Madrid.

Thomas Tuchel is almost certain to stick to his 3-4-2-1 hybrid. Couple this up with Olivier Giroud’s almost certain absence from the game, ruling long-balls out as an effective option, given the average heights of the front-men. The Blues in that situation, tend to push their wings wider resulting in more 1v1 battles. Here is where Real wins.

The possible three center backs are Raphael Varane, Eder Militao, and Nacho Fernandez, and all of them are expected to play full 90 mins. Real Madrid will honestly not mind the likes of Ben Chilwell, Marcos Alsono, or Reece James in 1v1 situations. With the wing-backs functioning as auxiliary right/left-backs for Real, they will be in a great position to win the ball back and release counters.

The aerial threat will loom. However, the key would be to stop the crosses, and even if one or two find their way in, we have seen how good ‘Air Militao’ is. With the centre backs in good form, especially Nacho and Militao shining as a pair, the Whites emerge clear winners in the defensive arrays of their half.