Chelsea will welcome Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final on Wednesday night with both teams aiming for the coveted domestic and European double.
Last weekend’s first leg ended in a 0-0 draw at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid. Despite the Spanish side’s forceful attack, Diego Simeone’s side could not break through the Chelsea defence to open the scoring.
A very defensive Chelsea held on for the complete 90 minutes facing torrent after torrent of Atletico attack, but Jose Mourinho’s team stood their ground and enter this match seemingly on a front foot. However, Chelsea suffered monumental losses in the form of long term injuries to goalkeeper Petr Cech and captain John Terry, which could keep them out for the rest of the season.
Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday evening sent shock waves throughout the footballing community and Mourinho showed his tactical mastery of solid defensive work coupled with clinical attacks on breaks. Demba Ba and Willian were on the scoresheet for the Blues on that night.
Mourinho will be without the services of suspended Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel, who played the full match at Liverpool on Sunday. Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah are also ineligible to play due to being cup-tied.
With a depleted squad, Chelsea faithful are hoping for a return of star midfielder and leading scorer Eden Hazard to the starting line-up. Oscar and Willian will be expected to provide support to Hazard in the Chelsea midfield.
Atletico had a tricky outing at Valencia on Saturday in the domestic league, however the current leaders took away all three points from the game with a strike by Raul Garcia in the 42nd minute. Juanfran was red carded at the death of the game and therefore, would definitely be playing the second leg against Chelsea.
Striker Diego Costa, who is incidentally on the Chelsea radar, and midfielder Koke would be the players to watch out for Madrid in the return leg. However, the visitors would miss the services of captain Gabi, who is suspended. Arda Turan may be fit to play for his team in this crucial encounter.
The visitors are the only unbeaten team left in the tournament, conceding only five goals in their 11 matches. Diego Simeone will be hoping for another gritty performance from his team of which we have seen enough evidence this season.