Real Madrid lost at the weekend at the hands of Villarreal. The result might very well have ended any remaining hopes they had of catching up to Barcelona in the La Liga title race this season. It was a bit of a wake up call as well though, before they welcome Chelsea to Santiago Bernabeu for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie.
Chelsea are in a terrible run of form right now. They also lost at the weekend, 1-0 away against Wolves. And recently, they have also shown Graham Potter the exit door, bringing in Frank Lampard as the caretaker manager till the end of the campaign.
The Blues sit at 11th in the Premier League table right now and are going through their worst season of this century. Thus, Real Madrid have to be considered as heavy favourites to go through from their tie.
Nothing is ever certain in football though. And Chelsea have been handed a massive boost before their game against Real Madrid. As tweeted out by Fabrizio Romano, Thiago Silva was back in training today.
Chelsea massive boost confirmed before Real Madrid game
Silva is a key player for Chelsea despite being 38 years of age. When fit, he remains one of the best centre-backs in the world.
Silva has been out injured for several weeks. But now, it looks like he is back in training. Whether he will be fit enough to feature against Real Madrid or not, remains to be seen.
On the other hand, one must remember that while Chelsea have been terrible in domestic competitions this season, the same cannot be said about their form in the Champions League. Thus, it would be a mistake to take the Blues lightly and consider the result of this tie as a forgone conclusion.