Real Madrid vs Chelsea: Two heavyweights go to battle in the Champions League semi-final

Real Madrid's Eden Hazard and Chelsea's Christian Pulisic

Real Madrid head into their record 30th European Cup semi-final but can Chelsea spoil their party after a week of controversy?

When: Tuesday, April 27, 20:00 GMT

How to watch: BT Sport

Best bets

Under 2.5 goals at 8/13 (Sky Bet)

Game to finish 1-1 at 11/2 (Bet Victor)

Timo Werner to score first at 15/2 (Unibet)

After making his comeback from injury during Real Madrid's 0-0 draw with Real Betis, Eden Hazard is in contention to play against his former club, Chelsea.

The Belgian spent eight years at Stamford Bridge, scoring 85 goals in 245 appearances for the Blues.

In 2019, he left for Real Madrid in a deal worth more than €100million to become a Galactico. However, his time in Madrid has not exactly gone to plan.

Eden Hazard has struggled to make an impact in Spain

Hazard has missed 57 games since joining Los Blancos two years ago and he will certainly want to make up for lost time by defeating his former club.

With Real struggling to keep pace with their city rivals in the La Liga title race, their biggest hope of silverware this season comes in the UEFA Champions League - a trophy that they have won 13 times.

If Hazard rediscovers his world-class form that earned him the transfer to Real Madrid, his team will be in a strong position to lift the trophy in Istanbul.

Previous three meetings:

Chelsea 1-0 Real Madrid (August 28, 1998)

The last time these two sides met in a competitive fixture was 23 years ago in the UEFA Super Cup Final. Real Madrid had won the Champions League the previous season while Chelsea lifted the Cup Winners' Cup after defeating Stuttgart.

This was the first Super Cup that was contested over just one leg and it was held in Monaco; also for the first time. The Stade Louis II would become the permanent host of the curtain-raiser for the new season until 2014.

In a tight contest, the game was decided by a Gus Poyet strike with 83 minutes on the clock after Gianfranco Zola rolled the ball back to the midfielder.

Real Madrid 1-2 Chelsea (May 21, 1971)

These two giants met twice in as many days after the first leg of their European Cup Winners' Cup final ended in a stalemate.

This replay took place in Athens, as the initial meeting did, with Chelsea eventually leaving with the silverware.

Chelsea took a 2-0 lead through Peter Osgood and John Dempsey, however they knew that the game was not won yet due to the power of their opponents.

Madrid battled back but could only manage one goal in their comeback pursuit. Sebastian Fleitas cut inside and unleashed a shot with his right foot past the Chelsea goalkeeper with 15 minutes remaining.

Real Madrid 1-1 Chelsea (May 19, 1971)

Just two days earlier the sides drew in Athens in front of a full stadium of fans.

No winner could be decided in extra time and so a replay was required to determine who would lift the 1971 European Cup Winners Cup.

Peter Osgood opened the scoring with a left-footed half volley into the corner of the net.

The London club thought they had done enough, but Real Madrid grabbed the equaliser with only seconds remaining on the clock to force a replay.

Head-to-head

Played: 3

Real Madrid wins: 0

Drawn: 1

Chelsea wins: 2

Real Madrid goals: 2

Chelsea goals: 4

Although Real Madrid have an excellent record in the Champions League in recent years - winning the trophy four times since 2013 - Zinedine Zidane will have to mastermind a flawless plan to get past a manager he is yet to defeat in his managerial career.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has never lost to Zidane in four previous meetings and will be looking to add to that record this midweek.

Previous meetings between Zidane and Tuchel:

Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Real Madrid - Champions League Group Stage (September 27, 2016)

Real Madrid 2-2 Borussia Dortmund - Champions League Group Stage (December 7, 2016)

Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Real Madrid - Champions League Group Stage (September 18, 2019)

Real Madrid 2-2 Paris Saint-Germain - Champions League Group Stage (November 26, 2019)

Real Madrid's Zinedine Zidane and Chelsea's Thomas Tuchel

The two managers meet for the first time in the knockout phase of the competition but Tuchel certainly holds the upper hand between the them, boasting one win and three draws from the four previous meetings.

One constant for Zidane is that he has only ever managed Real in the Champions League, whereas Tuchel has been in charge of Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in the competition.

Tuesday night's fixture certainly looks an intriguing one from a multitude of angles - which coach will gain the upper hand in the first leg in Madrid?

Scoreline prediction: Real Madrid 1-1 Chelsea

The London club head to Spain on the back of a confidence boosting victory over an in-form West Ham outfit. Real Madrid will provide a whole different challenge to the one posed by the Hammers and a draw makes the most sense as a first leg outcome.

Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner

Both teams have been impressive in their Champions League campaigns and seem to be closely matched on paper. With less risks likely to be taken by either side in the first leg, a low scoring draw is the percentage call especially considering Madrid have drawn three of their last five games 0-0.

The game itself has gathered even more attention in the past week, with both sides being part of the breakaway European Super League. Roman Abramovich has apologised for Chelsea's involvement and the club have withdrawn from the new league, while Florentino Perez has insisted that no team can leave due to the agreement in place between all the original members.

Goalscorer bets

Timo Werner rediscovered his goalscoring touch at the weekend and although he undoubtedly should have scored more than once, that one goal will have done him a world of good.

Madrid's backline will not be at full strength and if Chelsea are firing on all cylinders then chances will come the German's way.

Werner is priced at 15/2 with Unibet to get on the scoresheet first.

Can Sergio Ramos get amongst the goals?

If Sergio Ramos is fit for the match, he is unlikely to be far away from the action. Excellent from set pieces, the defender could add to his impressive tally of over 100 career goals for Real Madrid.

The serial trophy winner is available at 7/1 with William Hill to score anytime in 90 minutes.