Real Madrid vs Chelsea - Champions League team news and prediction

And then there were four. Real Madrid and Chelsea are unlikely semi-finalists when you consider how their seasons started but they will kickstart the last four stage on Tuesday night in Spain.

Ahead of such a mouth-watering tie, we have all your need-to-know match day information, including team news, predicted XIs and where you can catch the game.

When is kick off?
Tuesday 27th April, 20:00 GMT
Where is the match?
Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, Madrid (Spain)
What TV channel is it on?
BT Sport 2

Route to the semi-finals

Real Madrid didn't even look like they'd qualify out of their group at one point, requiring a win in their final match to avoid a humiliating early exit, but typically they are now closing in on yet another final. Zinedine Zidane's side have knocked out Atalanta and Liverpool en route to setting up a semi-final clash with Chelsea - their first meeting against the west London outfit since 1998!

Chelsea sailed through their group under Frank Lampard but few thought they would seriously challenge in this competition until they hired former Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel at the start of the year. Tuchel masterminded a terrific victory over Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 before overcoming FC Porto in the quarter-finals. Chelsea have only conceded one goal in four knock-out stage games this season and that was an unstoppable overhead kick last time out in the competition.

Team News

Real Madrid's injury woes are not as bad as when they faced Liverpool but Zinedine Zidane still has a depleted back four. Captain Sergio Ramos remains sidelined, while Lucas Vazquez and Ferland Mendy also look set to miss out for the home side. Marcelo's stock has fallen so much in the past 12 months that Nacho will reportedly cover for Mendy at left-back rather than the Brazilian, while Eder Militao will continue at centre-back after some impressive recent outings. Eden Hazard is fit to face his former side but will likely only make the bench with Vinicius Junior preferred on the left wing.

Chelsea only have former Real Madrid midfielder Mateo Kovacic missing ahead of Tuesday's trip to Spain. Thomas Tuchel has made it difficult to predict his starting line-ups with constant changes but most of the team should pick itself on Tuesday. The only doubts are who starts on the flanks and what combination he goes with up front. German duo Kai Havertz and Timo Werner have endured tough maiden campaigns for Chelsea but have at least shown some form in recent weeks.

Probable XIs

Real Madrid (433): Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Ramos, Nacho; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Asensio, Benzema, Junior

Chelsea (3421): Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger; James, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell; Mount, Werner; Havertz

Head-to-head: Eden Hazard vs Christian Pulisic

Chelsea certainly cashed in on Eden Hazard at the right time, banking over £100m for the Belgium international back in 2019. Hazard has endured a nightmare run with injuries since securing a dream move to Madrid, only starting 28 matches across league and European competition since then. It's more of a surprise that Hazard is actually fit to face his former club but with such little football under his belt he isn't expected to start on Tuesday night.

Nor is his Chelsea replacement, Christian Pulisic. The United States international looked like the ideal successor for Hazard, a carbon copy at times with the way he dribbles past players but he's not been the same since suffering a serious hamstring injury in last season's FA Cup final. Chelsea are yet to see the same Pulisic this season as they did towards the end of the last campaign, with niggling injuries hampering his return to form. Pulisic has also found it hard to break into the side under Tuchel despite excelling with him at Borussia Dortmund previously.

Instead of watching two eye-catching dribblers go head-to-head on Tuesday night, we may not even see them at all. Both teams have invested a great deal of money into both players and it's a great shame injuries have robbed them of reaching their full potential for a sustained period.

Predicted Scoreline: Real Madrid 0-0 Chelsea