Jose Mourinho’s side travel to Spain on Tuesday evening for the first leg of their highly anticipated Champions League semi-final against Atlético Madrid.
Date: Tuesday, April 22nd  Venue: Vicente Calderon  Kick-off: 19:45 GMT  On TV: ITV
Following their shock home defeat at the hands of Sunderland on Saturday, European success appears to be the only way Chelsea could end the season with silverware to take back to SW6.
Their opponents, who currently sit to of La Liga, will have been the draw many a Chelsea fan would have wanted, as their side avoided Real Madrid and the holders Bayern Munich.
Atlético, managed by Diego Simone, are a dangerous machine of a side, which is proven by the fact that they have knocked both Barcelona and Real Madrid off their perch in the Spanish league.
Indeed, they overcame Spanish rivals Barcelona in the quarter finals to reach the final four, while Chelsea pulled off a stunning comeback against PSG in another magical European night at the Bridge.
The meeting will be the first between the sides since Chelsea’s 4-1 drubbing in the 2012 super-cup, where Radamel Falcao got all four for Madrid.
Madrid will have the luxury of an extra days rest ahead of the game, after the Spanish authorities moved their League game back to Friday night, while Chelsea’s game against Sunderland was moved from Sunday back just a day to Saturday evening.
However, Chelsea are used to playing an array of games so quickly, especially after last season and the long slog of, eventually, going on to win Europe’s second-rate competition.
The two venues will surely play a big part in the final outcome of this tie. Chelsea, yet again, have the advantage (as seen by many) of having the second leg at home, meaning the crowd will be right behind any result they need to progress.
The Spanish side are unbeaten at home in the League this season, with all their losses coming away from home, while Chelsea lost a home league game under Mourinho for the very first time on Saturday.
Both sides appear very similar in League form, with Atlético and Chelsea scoring 74 and 67, while conceding 22 and 26 respectively.
Jose Mourinho is certainly the more experienced of the managers; tomorrow he will be taking charge of his eighth Champions League semi-final.
One of the main questions surrounding this tie has been the availability of Chelsea loanee, currently at Atlético, and whether he will be able to line up against his parent club.
However, unfortunately for Chelsea fans, UEFA appear to have stated that any agreements about contracts between clubs are null in this competition, so Mourinho may very well face the man considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world, despite owning him.
As well as Courtois, Chelsea fans will also get the opportunity to see the man who may very well be the future of their front line, as Diego Costa is linked with a move to the Blues, but will no doubt be looking to put them out over two legs.
Two the teams, and Madrid have the luxury of a full squad to choose from with no injury worries, meaning Chelsea will be playing a full strength Atleti side including names such as Koke, Costa, Villa and, of course, Courtois.
Chelsea are without right-back Branislav Ivanovic after the Serb picked up one too many yellow cards and faces suspension, meaning the League’s best defence will need to be disrupted for the first time in 14 games.
This could see Ashley Cole come in and Azpilicueta move to right-back, but Cole’s absence from the squad on Saturday suggests otherwise. Rumours have circulated that David Luiz could be deployed in a full-back role.
As always in European ties, Chelsea are without Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah as they are cup-tied.
On Monday afternoon, Chelsea confirmed that Eden Hazard had traveled with the squad to Madrid following his injury, while Samuel Eto’o misses the game with a minor knee problem.
Eden Hazard has created 107 chances for Chelsea this season, the highest for Chelsea. Next is Willian with 75 chances created.Â
Finally, Petr Cech missed the defeat to Sunderland through illness, but it is expected that he will be ready to play on Tuesday evening.
A full 20 man squad list for the game can be found here.
Mourinho’s main headache, aside from the right-back situation will be who to select up-front. Demba Ba has come up with two vital goals recently, while Fernando Torres has found his success this season in the Champions League, as well as the Super Cup.
Chelsea have not won their previous first legs of ties in this seasons knockout stages, but still managed to progress. One would imagine Mourinho would be content with a draw, with an away goal vita, as proved in the previous two rounds.
Chelsea vs Atlético: Pre-match facts
- The sides have met three times in the past, each winning one and drawing the other
- Diego Costa has five more goals than all Chelsea’s three main strikers combined (all comps)
- Demba Ba has 3 CL goals in just 4 appearances; three of which were off the bench
- Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 15 matches against Spanish sides in the Champions League (W6, D9)
Source: ChelseaMad/TransferMarkt/Opta
Atletico vs Chelsea: Predicted lineup
Chelsea:Â Cech, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Terry, Cole; Lampard, Luiz; Willian, Hazard, Schurrle; Ba
Prediction: Atlético 1-1 Chelsea
