Chelsea vs Real Madrid Champions League quarter-final preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, starting line-ups

Chelsea and Real Madrid meet in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg on Tuesday 18 April.

Where to watch Chelsea vs Real Madrid on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Champions League broadcast partner(s) here.

What do you need to know?

Chelsea overturned a first-leg deficit against Dortmund to reach the quarter-finals but they face an even stiffer task here following a 2-0 defeat in Spain, courtesy of goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio. They may draw comfort from their tie with Madrid at this stage last season, when they also trailed by two goals after the opening meeting before racing into a 3-0 lead in the Santiago Bernabéu return. The Merengues eventually squeezed through after extra time but will be wary of Frank Lampard's side at Stamford Bridge this time around.

Starting line-ups

Chelsea: Arrizabalaga; Fofana, Thiago Silva, Chalobah; James, Kovačić, Fernández, Kanté, Cucurella; Gallagher; Havertz
Misses next match if booked: Arrizabalaga, Thiago Silva, Fernández, Gallagher, James, Koulibaly, Kovačić, Mudryk

Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Militão, Alaba, Camavinga; Modrić, Kroos; Valverde; Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinícius Júnior
Suspended: None
Misses next match if booked: Carvajal, Éder Militão

Form guide

Chelsea
Form (all competitions, most recent first): LLLDLD
Where they stand: 11th in Premier League

Real Madrid
Form (all competitions, most recent first): WWLWWL
Where they stand: 2nd in Liga

Expert predictions

Joseph Terry, Chelsea reporter
The return of Lampard was intended to inject a feel-good factor into a side searching for identity and confidence, but the Chelsea icon hasn't yet been able to turn around the club's fortunes, overseeing three consecutive defeats since taking over. It's clearly not the best time to face the Champions League juggernaut that is Real Madrid, especially when they're sitting pretty on a 2-0 lead. Lampard did mention the rich heritage of special European nights at Stamford Bridge and he'll be hoping his players tap into that magic on Tuesday evening.

Graham Hunter, Real Madrid reporter
Real Madrid's last visit to England saw the Spanish, European and world champions give Liverpool a two-goal head start before scoring five times without reply. Lampard's Chelsea know that Carlo Ancelotti's team are potentially more dangerous than the one that triumphed 2-0 last week. Los Blancos are Europe's best at winning possession deep in their own half, playing four-pass, 12-second lightning transitions to score or create opportunities. The Blues must risk, and score, but cannot be caught overexposed. It'll be a cracking match.

What the coaches say

Frank Lampard, Chelsea caretaker manager: "It's down to us as a team to play with desire to try to turn this game around. The atmosphere is going to be great, but it's down to us to excite the crowd, because they can help us. We need to play our part."

Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach: ""We are fine, motivated, as always. These are important matches in an important competition. We are thinking that we have to play a full game. We have 90 minutes left and in this type of competition anything can happen. We are ready to play the best we can."

Where is the 2023 Champions League final?

UEFA via Getty Images

Istanbul's Atatürk Olympic Stadium will host the final on Saturday 10 June 2023.

The winners gain a place in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League group stage, if they have not qualified via their domestic competition.