Hakim Ziyech will not get a base place in the semi-final of the Champions League against Real Madrid on Tuesday evening from manager Thomas Tuchel. In the return of the quarterfinals against FC Porto, the playmaker also had to settle for a substitute, just like in the Premier League game with West Ham United last weekend. Trainer Zinedine Zidane sends his team into the field in a 5-3-2 formation and lets Eden Hazard, who can make his comeback in the championship ball for the first time in 153 days, start from the bench. The match is led by Danny Makkelie, who will give the starting shot at 9 p.m. in the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano.
On target with the home team is Thibaut Courtois, as usual, who will compete against the club where he was under the bar between 2014 and 2018. In front of him stands a five-man defense, consisting of Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, Raphaël Varane, Nacho, Marcelo. In midfield, the French coach has no surprises in store and calls on Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. The two-man vanguard consists of captain Karim Benzema and Vinícius Junior, who is preferred over Rodrygo.
Like his colleague, Tuchel also enters with a 5-3-2 system. Édouard Mendy defends the goal in the Spanish capital on behalf of Chelsea and sees the usual three central defenders: Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva and Antonio Rüdiger. The right flank is covered by César Azpilicueta, while Ben Chilwell takes the left. The midfield consists of N’Golo Kanté, Jorginho and Mason Mount; Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic form the London attack duo.
It is the first time in Champions League history that Real Madrid and Chelsea will face each other. The last time the teams met in an official game was in 1998, when the Londoners were 0-1 too strong in the European Super Cup. The Blues reached eight times earlier in the penultimate round of the European top competition, while the Madrid people are in the semi-final for the fourteenth time.
Real Madrid lineup: Courtois; Carvajal, Militão, Varane, Nacho, Marcelo; Casemiro, Kroos, Modric; Vinícius Júnior, Benzema.
Chelsea line-up: Mendy; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, Chilwell; Kante, Jorginho, Mount; Pulisic, Werner.