Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel talks up Bernabeu factor ahead of Real Madrid tie

Head coach Thomas Tuchel has acknowledged that Chelsea's two experiences of playing against Real Madrid over the past year "cannot be more different".

At the semi-final stage last year, Chelsea collected a 1-1 draw from the first leg, which was played at Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano due to the Santiago Bernabeu undergoing renovation work.

However, already trailing 3-1 on aggregate in this year's last-eight tie, Chelsea will travel to Los Blancos' famous home, something which Tuchel describes as one of the sport's "biggest challenges".

Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Tuchel said: "It cannot be more different. It is one of the biggest challenges to perform as an away team in Bernabeu. It is even more difficult if you have to earn a certain result, if you need to win with a minimum of two goals, or maybe even a three-goal difference, it makes it almost impossible.

"It will be very difficult but it is still worth trying. It is still a stage where you can also over-perform. We need to over-perform. It's a big experience to learn from and maybe experience and over-perform."

Chelsea travel to Spain without the services of Romelu Lukaku, but Cesar Azpilicueta is due to return to the squad after missing Saturday's meeting with Southampton.