Chelsea return to Stamford Bridge for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final clash with Atlético Madrid on Wednesday, knowing a win will put them in the final.
Date: Wednesday, 30th April Venue: Stamford Bridge Kick-off: 19:45 GMT On TV: Sky Sports
A 0-0 stalemate in the Vicente Calderon means that Chelsea have a very simple objective on Wednesday evening: win the game to reach their third European final in three years.
Neither side were able to earn the breakthrough last Tuesday, as Chelsea were cautious and frustrated Atlético who created very few clear cut chances.
The scoreline means that for every goal the Spaniards may manage on Wednesday, Chelsea need two to progress, but it does take out the complications of away goals on the Chelsea side of things.
Chelsea’s outlook on the remainder of the season may have changed somewhat with the victory against Liverpool on Sunday, which looks to have put the Blues back in with a shout for the title as well as the Champions League.
However, Mourinho made it very clear where his priorities were by making 9 changes to that side that played Liverpool, with names such as Cahill, Willian and Oscar all rested from the start.
This, along with the fact that Atlético played just two hours after Chelsea at the weekend, means the sides are slightly more even in terms of fitness for Wednesday’s game than they were for the first leg, where Atlético had an extra days rest.
Their opponents still sit top of La Liga with their win at the weekend and appear to be edging closer to ending the years of dominance in the Spanish League from rivals Real Madrid as well as Barcelona.
Simeone’s team scraped a 0-1 away victory against Valencia on Sunday, while using their full strength squad it must be noted, meaning they remain in full throttle coming into Wednesday’s clash.
Chelsea proved what an intimidating place the Bridge can be to visit on a European night when overcoming PSG in the last leg, where the fans were one of the main reason for the victory; backing their team right up until the dramatic ending.
It is also another big game in which Mourinho can work his magic and, hopefully, overcome the Spanish threat to get Chelsea to their third Champions League final in six years.
An important factor is likely to be the experience of the two sides in such situations: this is Madrid’s first appearance in this stage of the competition for 40 years, while Roman Abramovic has seen his Chelsea’s side’s reach this stage 6 times since the Russian’s arrival.
Chelsea also have those ‘big game players’, along with their manager, which has seen them remain undefeated against the League’s top 4 this season, meaning Chelsea may even go into this slight favourites, especially with their previous European heroics.
However, Chelsea may be without their biggest leader of all, with doubts remaining over the head of John Terry. Despite rumours that Chelsea had hopes he would be fit for Wednesday, there has been no confirmation or suggestion from the club that he would be.
Eden Hazard is expected to play some sort of role, after declaring himself fit enough to play, however Mourinho may not want to risk the Belgian from the start and bring his fresh legs on as Atlético may start to tire a little.
Striker Samuel Eto’o is also likely to be fit enough to start, and didn’t play a part on Sunday in a ‘weakened’ side which suggests that Mourinho is planning to start the Cameroonian.
Chelsea defense, pending the fitness of John Terry, may return to default with Ivanovic back from suspension and therefore able to play in his right-back position.
Chelsea are without Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel through suspension and Petr Cech who misses the remainder of the season through injury.
If David Luiz or Willian were to get a booking in the game, they would miss the final were Chelsea to reach that stage, so Mourinho may try to exclude them from the team, or trust them to keep their composure in the challenges so Chelsea aren’t without two key players for their potentially biggest game of the season.
The visitors are without captain Gabi after he picked up one too many yellow cards and misses just the one game. Other than the midfielder, Atléti have a full roster of players to field at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have not won their previous first legs of ties in this seasons knockout stages, but still managed to progress and doing so again would mean setting up a final against either Bayern Munich or the relentless, in Europe at least, Real Madrid.
Chelsea fans will of course be dreaming of a chance to relive that night in Munich by reaching the final in Lisbon on May 24th. A win on Wednesday, and Chelsea are one game away from glory in Europe’s elite competition.
Chelsea vs Atlético Madrid: Pre-match facts
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 16 matches with Spanish sides in the Champions League
- Mark Schwarzer has 7 clean sheets in 9 Chelsea games
- Chelsea made just 175 passes in the first leg (55% successful) compared to Atlético’s 428 (75% successful)
Chelsea vs Atlético Madrid: Predicted lineup
Chelsea: Schwarzer, Ivanovic, Cahill, (Terry), Azpilicueta; Luiz, Ramires; Willian, Hazard, Oscar; Eto’o
Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Atlético Madrid
