How Chelsea could line up against Real Madrid

Chelsea will have Cesar Azpilicueta back at their disposal for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night.

The Spaniard returned a positive COVID-19 test the day before the trip to Southampton but is back in the group after testing negative, but Ross Barkley is now sick and misses out alongside Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Romelu Lukaku is also dealing with Achilles pain and has been left out of the group, as the defending champions seek to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the first leg at Stamford Bridge.

With Azpilicueta only just back from coronavirus, Andreas Christensen ought to earn another start at the back alongside Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva, and number one Edouard Mendy will seek to consign his first-leg mistake for Karim Benzema's third to history.

Tuchel could afford to bring Silva off after 63 minutes of Saturday's 6-0 win against Southampton, and his replacement Reece James is expected to force his way into the XI over Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Marcos Alonso should have done enough to keep his place on the opposite side, while Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante will eye another midfield partnership as Jorginho watches on from the bench.

Mason Mount and Timo Werner both bagged braces on the South Coast at the weekend, but only the former may keep his place in the XI here, with Hakim Ziyech able to provide some much-needed fresh legs.

Even if Lukaku was passed fit for the second leg, his chances of displacing Kai Havertz were slim to none, with the German's header being the reason that Chelsea still have slight hope of turning the tie around.

Chelsea possible starting lineup: Mendy; Christensen, Silva, Rudiger; James, Kovacic, Kante, Alonso; Ziyech, Mount; Havertz

> Click here to see how Real Madrid could line up for the second leg