Chelsea booking stats: How many players are at risk of second leg suspension during UCL clash against Real Madrid?
Five Chelsea players are at risk of missing the UEFA Champions League second-leg clash against Real Madrid if they get booked on Wednesday evening. Los Blancos, meanwhile, have no player who has a suspension pending.
Thiago Silva, Reece James, Kalidou Koulibaly, Conor Gallagher, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Enzo Fernandez are all staring at a suspension.
The Blues entered the last eight of the competition by defeating Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16 stages of the tournament. Los Blancos, meanwhile, bettered Liverpool in the last 16.
The two sides met in the quarter-final stage of the competition last season. Real Madrid defeated Chelsea by an aggregate score of 5-4 over the two legs.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard spoke ahead of the Real Madrid clash
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard put out a clear message for his players ahead of the UEFA Champions League last-eight showdown against Real Madrid.
The caretaker manager urged his team to believe in themselves leading up to the clash. Lampard said, via the Blues' official website:
"For our players, some young players that we’ve got in the squad, we’ve got some trophy winners in the squad too. But the Champions League quarter-finals is always going to be a big occasion and we have to play to the occasion, because levels go up at this stage of the competition. We have to come here with a belief that we can perform under that pressure."
The Blues are languishing in the 11th place of the Premier League table. They lost against Wolverhampton Wanderers by a scoreline of 1-0 before the clash against the defending European champions.
Los Blancos, meanwhile, are second in La Liga. Carlo Ancelotti's team also suffered a defeat before their quarter-final clash. They were beaten 3-2 by Villareal this past weekend.