Real Madrid will be looking to get past struggling Chelsea when they square off in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The first match of this quarter-final tie takes place at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday. The match kicks off at 9pm.
It’s going to be quite interesting to see who blinks first as this is the third time in a row the pair have met in the Champions League knockouts. The winner of the previous two outings has gone on to claim the title.
Both teams lost on the weekend with Real Madrid now having no hope of catching Barcelona in LaLiga. The Blues have brought back Frank Lampard after Graham Potter was sacked but things didn’t start well.
Lampard could only watch as his side crashed to a lacklustre 1-0 defeat at Wolves.
Chelsea are languishing down in 11th place in the Premier League after a dismal campaign.
Lampard was part of the team that won the title in similar circumstances all the way back in 2012. He captained Chelsea in their unexpected run to Champions League triumph when Roberto Di Matteo replacing the axed Andre Villas-Boas.
Chelsea are without a win in their last four games.
Lampard recalled Raheem Sterling but he didn’t perform all that well against Wolves. He has just seven goals this season but did score in the last 16 against Dortmund.
Lampard believes he can still have a positive impact on Chelsea’s fortunes.
“Raheem has been there and done it and there’s history of producing,” Lampard said. “He’s been one of the best wingers in the world for a long time, at times, maybe in some people’s opinion, the best.
“He’s risen to games like that before in the past so that’s something we’ll obviously rely on in terms of this because some elements of the squad are maybe a bit younger.
“This game won’t faze him. I can’t remember how many times I’ve told young wingers; ‘watch Raheem Sterling and see why he scores 20 goals a season’. I just think he’s a top player.”
Madrid, who are aiming to win the trophy for the sixth time in 10 seasons, have burst into life in recent matches, scoring 12 goals in their last three games, including the 4-0 romp against Barcelona.
They suffered a 3-2 defeat on Saturday in LaLiga against Villarreal, but coach Carlo Ancelotti made six changes from the side that beat Barcelona to keep the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric fresh to face Chelsea.
Karim Benzema netted consecutive hat-tricks against Real Valladolid and Barcelona before that, like Madrid he is finding his best form at the crunch moments.
There could be plenty of goals in the Spanish capital; each of Madrid’s last five UCL quarter-final home legs produced over 2.5 goals.