Real Madrid will face Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday night, and neither team is coming off an impressive weekend performance. At least Los Blancos did not lose as the Blues did. Thomas Tuchel’s side were woeful in a 4-1 defeat to Brentford.
But Real were fortunate to win 2-1 against Celta Vigo, with their three penalties standing out as the only sort of offensive creation. Defensively, they were porous, rescued by Thibaut Courtois on multiple occasions.
Madridistas know Real Madrid must step up to the plate and improve on Wednesday, lest they are embarrassed by Thomas Tuchel yet again.
Here is a predicted lineup for the Merengues in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals at Stamford Bridge.
GK Thibaut Courtois
The former Chelsea star will be itching to have another world-class performance. Not just because this is the Champions League or because he is now a leader for Los Blancos. There is both the revenge factor and the fact that he will be going up against the other goalkeeper who has a case for being the world’s best right now, Edouard Mendy. Thibaut Courtois will want his star to shine brighter than anyone else’s on the pitch, especially given the way his team was embarrassed by the Blues in last year’s Champions League. Need I remind you who won that Champions League, by the way…
LB Ferland Mendy
Ferland Mendy’s defensive prowess will be important against Chelsea. We saw vs. Barcelona how much he can be missed. Nacho Fernandez is clearly no replacement, despite his decent performance vs. PSG. Now, Mendy’s issue is offense. He will need to start providing better passes and crosses in the final third. If not, Chelsea’s ace manager Thomas Tuchel can really focus on taking Vinicius Jr. out of the game.
CB David Alaba
One of the best center backs in the world, David Alaba knows a thing or two about winning a Champions League. He has won a UCL more recently than anyone else on Madrid, too. Alaba must lead by example in order for the Merengues to have any sort of winning this tie. Look for him to make more decisive blocks and interceptions as the cerebral general of the back line.
CB Eder Militao
Of course, Eder Militao is no slouch at reading the game either, even though he is not yet 25 years old. Militao has been one of the breakout stars of world football since 2020 when he starred against Liverpool, Barcelona, and other big clubs. In 2021/22, Militao is the full-time starter, and he is a top-class one at that. His closing speed will be key against a fluid, tricky front line that showed last year they can be very dangerous to Real Madrid on the counter.
RB Dani Carvajal
Dani Carvajal is the potential liability of this back line, judging by how poorly he fared against Kylian Mbappe and Ferran Torres. Basically, anyone he goes up against in Chelsea’s attack could exploit his declining speed and defensive quality. And let’s not even get started on how ineffective Carvajal has been offensively this season. He is not even a step above Mendy in that regard.