Real Madrid v Chelsea predictions, betting tips and odds

Where to watch Real Madrid v Chelsea

BT Sport 1, 8pm Wednesday

Best bet

Karim Benzema to score at any time
2pts 11-10 general

Karim Benzema to score two or more
0.5pt 11-2 bet365

Real Madrid v Chelsea odds

Real Madrid 7-10
Chelsea 4-1
Draw 11-4

Odds correct at time of publishing

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Real Madrid v Chelsea team news

Real Madrid
Ferland Mendy is injured and David Alaba is a doubt, but Luka Modric, Federico Valverde and Toni Kroos are among those expected to return to the line-up after starting on the bench in Saturday’s defeat to Villarreal.

Chelsea
Benoit Badiashile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Noni Madueke and David Fofana are not part of Chelsea’s Champions League squad while Armando Broja, Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva are sidelined through injury. Mason Mount is a doubt.

Real Madrid v Chelsea predictions

For the third Champions League campaign in a row Real Madrid and Chelsea square-up in the knockout stages and Los Blancos’ Ballon d'Or hero Karim Benzema may ensure their quarter-final encounter follows the same script as their last-eight meeting last season.

The free-scoring Frenchman inspired Real to a 3-1 first-leg success at Stamford Bridge last term with his brilliant hat-trick, which came hot on the heels of a treble that had sunk Paris St-Germain in the last 16.

Chelsea, to their credit, fought valiantly at the Bernabeu to take the tie to extra-time until that man Benzema struck once more to break the Blues with penalties looming.

Real went on to be crowned European champions for an eighth time as they took care of two more Premier League rivals in Manchester City and Liverpool, Benzema again on the mark with three goals across two semi-final legs against the Citizens.

Despite having turned 35 in December, Benzema is ageing like a fine wine and he showed his fondness for facing English opponents as Real ruthlessly ripped apart Liverpool in the previous round of Europe's elite competition.

The La Liga heavyweights all but put the tie to bed at Anfield as they ran riot in a resounding 5-2 victory, with Benzema twice on target on his mission in Merseyside.

The Frenchman also scored the only goal of the game in the Spanish capital to seal a 6-2 aggregate success, which took his tally to 19 goals in 25 Champions League meetings with Premier League opposition.

Having fired in back-to-back hat-tricks against Valladolid in La Liga and Barcelona in the Copa del Rey earlier this month, the 35-year-old has been taking no prisoners and Chelsea may feel the brunt of his attack.

The Blues have parted ways with manager Graham Potter since claiming the scalp of Borussia Dortmund in the last-16 and have Frank Lampard back in charge as caretaker until the end of the season.

Lampard’s first fixture in the dugout of his latest tenure did little to spark a revival, however, as Chelsea limped to a 1-0 loss at Wolves on Saturday.

That defeat, in which was their third straight game without a goal, leaves the Londoners languishing in 11th in the Premier League table and they appear a club in transition after their £500m transfer assault in January.

The Blues have managed just two wins from their last 14 away games in all competitions and the task they are faced with in Madrid is a daunting one.

A much-changed Real lost 3-2 at home to Villarreal on Saturday but they blew away Barcelona in a 4-0 rout in the Copa del Rey prior to that and they have won seven of their last eight Champions League assignments at home.

So with Real likely to prevail it seems logical to believe that Benzema, who has 25 goals in 32 appearances for his club this season, is going to inflict more damage on one of England’s finest.

Key stat

Karim Benzema has scored 12 goals in his last 11 games in all competitions.

Probable teams

Real Madrid (4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Nacho; Kroos, Modric, Camavinga; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius.
Subs: Vazquez, Asensio, Tchouameni, Ceballos, Rodrygo, Hazard, Diaz.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Kepa; James, Fofana, Koulibaly, Chilwell; Kovacic, Fernandez, Kante; Sterling, Havertz, Felix.
Subs: Chalobah, Gallagher, Mudryk, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic, Ziyech, Zakaria.