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The Champions League has always given us iconic clashes in the knockout stages. At every stage of the competition, there is at least one clash that can provide us with moments that will be remembered forever. This year, Real Madrid's epic 17-minute comeback against PSG in the first round will surely be remembered. As a reward for passing through the French team, Real Madrid got matched up with Chelsea, current Champions League holders. The English team won easily versus Lille and they will look to salvage a lost domestic campaign with success in Europe. This is surely the biggest clash in the quarterfinals of this Champions League year and it should bring a ton of fireworks.
Real Madrid is entering this game somewhat reeling. After they beat PSG with a Karim Benzema hat-trick, they have not looked good. They did beat Mallorca 0-3 away from home, but that was overshadowed by a 0-4 loss at home to Barcelona in the El Clasico. After that came the international break and in the one La Liga game after the El Clasico, they barely beat Celta Vigo away from home. Real Madrid got three penalties, capitalizing on two to sneak away a 2-1 victory. Overly relying on the same players is costing manager Carlo Ancelotti some fresh legs that are sorely needed for the end of the season and they might be in line for a turbulent last few months of the season.
It is not much different for Real Madrid's opponents, Chelsea. The British club is going through a massive period, mostly due to some non-football circumstances. Their current owner, Roman Abramovich, is under heavy sanctions from the British government due to his links with Vladimir Putin and is currently selling the club. In these moments of uncertainty for the Blues, Chelsea is also not performing on the field. In the last few weeks, they did stabilize somewhat with some wins against Newcastle, Burnley, and Norwich City, but they got embarrassed by Brentford, losing 1-4 at the iconic Stamford Bridge. As they have to face the 13-time Champions League winners, this last result could be a bad omen.
Without further ado, let's look at all the necessary information to watch this huge Champions League derby between Chelsea and Real Madrid, including the start time, TV channels, how to live stream the game, and our prediction for the outcome.
Chelsea vs Real Madrid start time, TV Channel
What time does the game start?
The game is set to kick off at 3:00 PM EST on Wednesday, April 6th.
Where is the game being played?
The match will take place at Stamford Bridge in London, England.
How to watch or live stream?
The match will be aired via CBS, Univision, and TUDN, while live streams can be accessed via fuboTV and Paramount+.
Chelsea vs Real Madrid Predictions
This is a very tough game to predict. In the Champions League, it is usually the second legs that are more excited, as teams already know what they need to do. Additionally, Real Madrid's manager Carlo Ancelotti has shown that he will calculate a ton in the first game. Rather infamously, he let the control of the game fall to PSG and he risked getting absolutely demolished, and Real Madrid was generally lucky that Kylian Mbappe only capitalized on one of his wide array of chances in front of goal. Chelsea's first obstacle in the round of 16, Lille, cannot really be a true measure, since the difference in the quality of the teams is very evident.
In terms of notable omissions and general team news, Real Madrid will be missing three players for sure. Eden Hazard is out due to ankle surgery and he might be gone in the summer, due to the fact that even when healthy, he is not playing a ton of games. The same goes for Isco and Luka Jovic, who are missing this game and did not make the trip to London due to back and ankle issues, respectively. In terms of Chelsea, they will be missing Ben Chilwell and Callum Hodson-Odoi, but they are both long-term omissions and do not have a huge impact on the squad. Christian Pulisic will be making a return to the squad after coming late from international duty, but there are still doubts on whether he will actually start the game.
In terms of predictions, as said above, it is not an easy job predicting the first leg of the knockout stages of the Champions League. Usually, coaches calculate a lot and most excitement is reserved for the second leg. Still, based on everything we saw and from last year's experiences Real Madrid had with Chelsea, this should be a win for the English club. They should be able to take control of the midfield and while Real Madrid is dangerous on the counter with the speed of Vinicius Jr, the control Chelsea can win in the midfield should bring them a ton of opportunities to score and end up winning the game.
