The second leg of each Champions League quarter finals are on this week. Here is everything you need to know about Tuesday's two games.
Chelsea welcomes Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge tonight. Frank Lampard's men will hope to overturn a two-goal deficit they've conceded last week in Madrid.
AC Milan will not travel too far as they are heading south of Italy to play Napoli. The Milanese team will try and maintain their one goal advantage gained in the San Siro Stadium last Wednesday as they beat Napoli 1-0.
The deciders! 🔥
Who will be celebrating at full time?#UCL pic.twitter.com/L3hXytz7oW— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 18, 2023
Chelsea v Real Madrid (Stamford Bridge, London, 8pm)
Chelsea
Place in domestic league: 11th
Last three league results: L L D
Chelsea have been mediocre across this season. They haven't won a game since in a month and they've lost that crucial first leg last week to Real Madrid. Sitting eleventh in the league, they have nothing to play for except the Champions League. Their last result is a 2-1 home defeat to Brighton. Tonight will probably be the most important game of their season as their trophies hope depends on this game.
Frank Lampard still believes Chelsea can pull something special off tonight:
Anything is possible in football and there’s no doubt that we’re a competitive team and we deserve to be here in this stage of the competition.
Ben Chilwell won't feature in today's game as he received a red card in the first leg. Kalidou Koulibaly got injured against Real Madrid last week and will therefore miss this game.
Real Madrid
Place in domestic league: 2nd
Last three league results: W L W
Carlo Ancelotti's men have had their ups and downs this season but they've always showed up for European games. They finished first in their group and absolutely hammered Liverpool in the round of 16. They also had an easy win last week in Madrid against Chelsea. The London side didn't cause much trouble in the Real Madrid's defence. They are in a very comfortable spot now, they only need to defend their 2-0 lead in order to advance to the semi finals.
Ancelotti remains aware that anything is possible in football but his team is ready to play this second leg:
Anything can happen in the Champions League, but we are ready to play the best we can.
Eder Militao also added that Real Madrid will have to "play at their best" if they want to knock out Chelsea.
Vinicius Junior suffered a knock and is highly unlikely to start this evening. Same for Toni Kroos. However both players feature in the squad.
Napoli v AC Milan (Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, Naples, 8pm)
Napoli
Place in domestic league: 1st
Last three league results: D W L
Napoli sit first in the Serie A. They are more than likely going to win the Scudetto with ten league games left they have a 14 point advantage on the second place Lazio. In the Champions League they've played very well, however they lost the first leg of quarter finals last week against their Italian rivals Milan.
Napoli and Milan are going to meet for the 3rd time in the span of 2 weeks ⚔️
Get your popcorn ready 🍿 pic.twitter.com/DeKGmDFLuP— 433 (@433) April 18, 2023
They will have to rely on their unique style that worked so well this season to reverse the current scoreline in order to make it to the semis.
Their coach Luciano Spalletti has been clear: only a won will satisfy him:
We must go into this game with the same approach as in the first leg and give everything we have. I'll only be happy if we go through.
Giovanni Simeone is the only injured player in the team. Kim Min Jae and Franck Zambo Anguissa are both suspended for this game.
AC Milan
Place in domestic league: 4th
Last three league results: D D W
Milan have had quite a lot of good results recently. They sit fourth in the Italian league and can even push for a top 2 finish. Last week's win in the first leg is a massive win for the team.
Coach Stefano Pioli is confident his team has what they need to qualify for this year's Champions League semi finals:
We are highly motivated, fully focused and totally determined to go through to the next round. We expect the atmosphere to be totally different to when we played them in the league and we're aware of this. However it will give us that motivation and energy we need.
The only major injury in the squad is Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic who won't play tonight. Malick Thiaw remains doubtful for this game after coming off injured against Bologna on the weekend.
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