Chelsea

Image source, PA Media

This is the first meeting of these two clubs since the 1998 Super Cup in Monaco, when a Gustavo Poyet goal seven minutes from time at the Stade Louis II gave Cup Winners' Cup holders Chelsea victory against Real, who had won the Champions League.

So it's going to be 0-0 then?

Chelsea

Image source, Reuters

Saturday's win at West Ham was Chelsea's 10th clean sheet in just their 14th Premier League match under Thomas Tuchel, equalling the quickest a manager has recorded 10 clean sheets in Premier League history, after Luiz Felipe Scolari, also for Chelsea, in 2008.

Chelsea have kept 11 clean sheets in their last 14 games, and 16 in their last 21, including the last three.

Real Madrid
Real Madrid

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Real are unbeaten in 17 matches in all competitions (W12 D5) and have kept clean sheets in their last four fixtures. They were held 0-0 at home by Real Betis on Saturday.

Zinédine Zidane's side have conceded only eight goals in that 17-match unbeaten run, and never more than once in a game.

They have drawn 0-0 in three of their last four games in all competitions (W1), as many as they had in their previous 68 matches (W45 D10 L13).

It's the most settled midfield in Europe, apart from Burnley.

Andy West
Spanish football writer

This has not been a particularly impressive season for Real Madrid.

Zinedine Zidane's men have rarely produced sparkling play, they have found precious few goalscoring alternatives to Karim Benzema, and an endless list of injuries has further hampered their efforts to deliver flowing football.

Yet, with a month of the season remaining, here they are, firmly in contention for both La Liga and the Champions League.

Image source, Getty Images

By far the greatest strength of this Real Madrid team is the tried and trusted midfield of Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.

The timeless trio are all having fantastic seasons and even now, nearly seven years after they first teamed up, there is still no better midfield in the world than Real's trio.

Let's be honest, business time in the Champions League can be a tough place for the neutral and this year could be tougher than ever.

If PSG are the bastions of football then...

But who do you want to win it this year, and more importantly where is this tie going to be won and lost?

Let us know via the usual channels.

Real Madrid
Real Madrid

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The second leg of this semi-final, just to be clear, will take place next Wednesday and the winners will play either Paris St-Germain or Manchester City in the final in Istanbul.

Looks like both sides are playing a back three with wing-backs then. Nobody wants to blink first in a two-legged semi-final. It could be a tense night.

Former Chelsea forward Eden Hazard is on the bench for Real Madrid.

The Spanish giants make three changes from the weekend, with captain Marcelo, Toni Kroos and Vinicius Junior coming in.

Real Madrid XI: Courtois, Eder Militao, Varane, Nacho, Carvajal, Modric, Casemiro, Kroos, Marcelo, Benzema, Vinicius Junior.

Subs: Hazard, Asensio, Lunin, Odriozola, Isco, Mariano, Rodrygo, Altube, Arribas, Blanco, Gutierrez.

Image source, .

Chelsea name the same XI that won 1-0 at West Ham in the Premier League last-time out.

That means Timo Werner, who scored against the Hammers, leads the attack, supported by Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic.

Chelsea XI: Mendy, Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell, Mount, Pulisic, Werner.

Subs: Arrizabalaga, Alonso, Abraham, Caballero, Zouma, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Gilmour, James, Havertz, Emerson Palmieri.

Image source, .

And so it comes to this.

In a season disrupted and disturbed like no other, two teams who just last week threatened to leave the Champions League altogether now shoot it out for a place in the final.

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In one corner, the team who have the history of the European Cup written through their core like a stick of seaside rock but who were at the heart of the proposed Super League.

Is the 13-times winners' pedigree now tainted?

Image source, Reuters

And in the other corner, Chelsea, who sacked a club legend and turned their season around. Could they reach the final for a third time?

There are more subplots than an episode of you-know-what. Let's hope it's easier to follow.