Karen Carney
Former Chelsea midfielder on BBC Radio 5 Live

Benzema's a massive factor, no question about it. Defensively, it worries teams when he plays and he just has a massive impact - captain, leader.

You can't take away he's got 39 goals for club and country this season and it will be a massive task for Chelsea tonight to keep him quiet.

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Former Blues goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois says that whoever takes control of Chelsea after Roman Abramovich will be buying "one of the best clubs in the world".

The Belgium international made more than 150 appearances for the Blues, winning two Premier League titles, before moving to Real Madrid in 2018.

"I think it's been a hard month for the club and for the fans, but I think you can see that all the people that love Chelsea are really putting all their energy together," said Courtois.

"The new owners must know what club they are buying. And hopefully they can keep that spirit that has always been here.

"In total I was part of Chelsea for seven years, and that was a big part of my career.

"I hope the new owners will understand what they are buying and that Chelsea can remain as one of the best clubs in the world."

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior has generated more shots following carries (moving 5+ metres with the ball) than any other player in the Champions League this season - taking 10 shots himself and creating the same amount of chances for others.

He also leads all players in the competition this term for carries featuring a take-on attempt (28).

Chelsea

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, speaking to BT Sport: "This is what you do, even when you win you have to start from new, we have to learn from it [the defeat by Brentford] but it is also not the first time we do it. It is a new competition, a new evening and a new opponent."

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Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic believes the Blues have every reason to be confident heading into tonight's quarter-final.

Last year the two sides met at the semi-final stage, with Chelsea coming out on top before going on to win the trophy against Manchester City.

"We should take confidence because obviously we got good results against them last year and we are going to hope to do the same this year," said the American.

"Obviously they are a big team and it is never going to be an easy Champions League knockout game, but knowing we did it last season we should be confident and that will be our mindset going into it.

"It should definitely give us confidence - not overconfidence, but knowing we were able to do it last season against some of the biggest teams in the world definitely helps us."

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Will Faulks, from Talk Chelsea:

Timo Werner's most important contribution in a Chelsea shirt was a header from two yards out against Real Madrid, burying the ball after Kai Havertz's shot came off the bar to give his team the lead in the tie.

He had other good moments in that game, and in other matches as Chelsea won the Champions League last season. It really felt like he might be finding his confidence, and a role in Thomas Tuchel's setup.

But a year later we find ourselves discussing the end of Werner rather than the rebirth. His performance against Brentford at the weekend was poor, as we've come to expect, and he continues to look bereft of confidence.

The difference between now and a year ago is the reaction of the fans. After nearly two years of encouraging him and forgiving him, Stamford Bridge seems to have reached its limit with yet another misfiring striker, and there were howls of frustration time and again as he pulled out of 50-50s or lost the ball with a sloppy second touch.

Another goal against Madrid would certainly get a great reaction in the stadium - but at this point it feels like the damage is done, and it will be hard to ever truly convert the fans into believers again now.

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Villarreal boss Unai Emery says his team will need to be flawless against six-time European champions Bayern Munich, but believes they more than merit their place at this stage of the competition.

"We need to play a perfect game," the Spaniard said.

"We will play the 90 minutes at home with the aim of staying alive in the tie. We got through the group stage against Manchester United and Atalanta and knocked out Juventus in a very competitive tie, with a result that was beyond what we could have imagined.

"All that experience and learning makes us question if it really is a surprise [that we have reached the quarter-finals]. We want people to recognise our value and presence here."

Andy West
Spanish football writer

So if the Italian goes (again), who replaces him this time?

As with Manchester United, Mauricio Pochettino has long been linked with a move to the Bernabeu, while Julian Nagelsmann of Bayern Munich is admired by president Florentino Perez and Real legend Raul is coming increasingly into the picture after an impressive spell in charge of the club's B team.

Whoever is at the helm, they will have to oversee a period of transition. Long-standing stalwarts Benzema, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Dani Carvajal must be gradually replaced, while unwanted veterans Gareth Bale, Isco and Marcelo will leave at the end of the season when their contracts expire.

The midfield can be rejuvenated by more prominent roles for Fede Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga, who have been largely sidelined by Ancelotti's ongoing insistence on starting with Modric, Kroos and Casemiro whenever possible.

Looming largest in the background, however, is Kylian Mbappe

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It is looking very likely that whoever wins this tie faces Liverpool in the semi-finals.

The Reds won at Benfica 3-1 to take a two-goal cushion into the second leg at Anfield next week.

Bayern go into this game as favourites but they will be wary of Unai Emery's side, who stunned Juventus in the last 16.

"[His] team are very experienced and we will need to figure out how to break them down," said Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann.

Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea and Real Madrid's players are out warming up at Stamford Bridge and the ground has been hit by a torrential downpour. Will certainly make the surface very slick.

Andy West
Spanish football writer

His team are 12 points clear at the top of La Liga and preparing for a Champions League quarter-final with Chelsea, so why is Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti apparently still in serious danger of being fired, asks Spanish football writer Andy West.

To understand the Italian's precarious position, it's necessary to consider the context of his arrival at the club last summer.

Real were in a fair amount of turmoil, with a trophy-less season followed by the departure of iconic boss Zinedine Zidane along with captain Sergio Ramos and his central defensive partner Raphael Varane.

At such a precarious time in terms of morale, club president Florentino Perez needed a safe pair of hands, someone to lead the short-term task of calmly guiding the team out of choppy waters.

A sense of stability and continuity was required and nobody fitted the bill better than Ancelotti, whose experience and easy-going manner made him the perfect candidate to restore order.

He has unquestionably achieved that aim. Real have taken advantage of an inconsistent season from reigning champions Atletico Madrid, a dreadful start from Barcelona and a lack of firepower at Sevilla to establish a surely impregnable position at the top of La Liga - meaning that Ancelotti is poised to become the first manager in history to win the title in each of Europe's big five leagues.

Whether Ancelotti - who will be at Stamford Bridge after testing negative for Covid on Wednesday - will be given the opportunity to defend the crown next season, however, is a different matter.

Both these sides have suffered humblings of late, with Chelsea hammered 4-1 by Brentford on their own patch in the Premier League at the weekend.

But Real Madrid are still patching themselves up from an El Clasico drubbing, going down 4-0 to Barcelona at the Bernabeu before the international break.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport

News from elsewhere tonight, with Manchester United edging closer to naming Ajax boss Erik ten Hag as their new manager.

Whilst Old Trafford officials continue to insist the process of appointing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s successor is not complete and that it is premature to say a deal has been done, it is understood Ten Hag is now the favoured candidate amongst senior figures at United.

It had become clear the choice has narrowed to Ten Hag or Mauricio Pochettino.

However, BBC Sport has been told it is felt Ten Hag would be a better fit for the structure now in place at United, where John Murtough is the football director, Darren Fletcher is technical director and interim boss Ralf Rangnick an advisor.

It is not thought an official announcement is imminent and with Ajax still in a battle with PSV Eindhoven for the Dutch title, it is possible United may delay it even further out of respect to the Eredivisie giants, where former United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is chief executive.

If the appointment is confirmed, it is likely Ten Hag will bring in a former United coach or player as part of his backroom team given it is unlikely the remaining link to the Solskjaer era, Mike Phelan, will remain at the club.

Ironically, the high point of Ten Hag’s reign at Ajax was taking the club to within a minute of the 2019 Champions League final, only to be denied by a Spurs side managed by Pochettino.

Thomas Tuchel and Luis Enrique were both considered for the job but it was felt it was impractical to think either man would leave their present employment to join United for the start of next season.

It is understood Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui was also spoken to about the role.

Chelsea make four changes from their shock 4-1 Premier League defeat by Brentford at the weekend but £97.5m striker Romelu Lukaku remains on the bench.

Christian Pulisic returns for the Blues while Andreas Christensen, Reece James and Jorginho are also restored to the starting XI as Marcos Alonso, Ruben Loftus Cheek, Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner drop to the bench.

Chelsea XI: Mendy, Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, James, Kante, Jorginho, Azpilicueta, Mount, Havertz, Pulisic.

Subs: Arrizabalaga, Bettinelli, Chalobah, Sarr, Alonso, Kenedy, Kovacic, Loftus-Cheek, Saul, Lukaku, Werner, Ziyech.

Image source, BBC Sport

Real Madrid make two changes from their weekend win at Celta Vigo but Gareth Bale remains on the bench. Daniel Carvajal and Federico Valverde come in for Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio.

Real Madrid XI: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy, Modric, Casemiro, Kroos, Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Jr.

Subs: Vallejo, Nacho, Asensio, Marcelo, Lunin, Vazquez, Bale, Ceballos, Rodrygo, Mariano, Camavinga, Fuidias.

Mason Mount makes his 150th appearance for Chelsea in all competitions, with 25 of those games coming in the Champions League. He's been involved in 50 goals for the Blues (25 goals and 25 assists) with five coming in this competition (scored two and assisting three).

Simon Gleave
Head of sports analysis, Nielsen Gracenote

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Chelsea host Real Madrid in the tightest of the four Champions League quarter-finals according to the Euro Club Index, external.

Chelsea are currently ranked fifth on the ECI with Real Madrid a place higher in fourth. Chelsea are therefore the underdogs and estimated to have 44% chance of reaching the semi-finals.

In the other tie, Villarreal (ranked 20th on the Euro Club Index) face third ranked Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga champions are big favourites to reach the last four with an 86% chance of doing so.

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Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has tested negative for Covid-19 and is able to join his team at Chelsea tonight for the Champions League quarter-final.

The 62-year-old did not travel to London with his players and staff on Tuesday for the first leg against his former side, but tested negative earlier today.

The Italian missed Real's 2-1 win at Celta Vigo after the club said he tested positive for coronavirus on 30 March.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel had said he hoped Ancelotti, who guided Chelsea to a Premier League and FA Cup double in 2010, would be at the game.

Villarreal make three changes from the side that beat Juventus in the previous round with Gerard Moreno, Francis Coquelin and Juan Foyth all coming in.

Villarreal XI: Rulli, Foyth, Albiol, Torres, Estupinan, Lo Celso, Capoue, Parejo, Coquelin, Gerard, Danjuma.

Subs: Sergio Asenjo, Mario, Alcacer, Iborra, Chukwueze, Trigueros, Pena, Pino, Mandi, Moi Gomez, Pedraza, Aurier.

Image source, .

The big news for Bayern Munich is that Alphonso Davies starts for the first time in three months.

The Canada international last played on 17 December after being diagnosed with myocarditis - an inflammation of the heart - and testing positive for Covid.

Davies' inclusion is one of two changes with Dayot Upamecano also coming in.

Bayern Munich XI: Neuer, Pavard, Upamecano, Hernandez, Davies, Kimmich, Musiala, Gnabry, Muller, Coman, Lewandowski.

Subs: Richards, Sule, Goretzka, Sane, Wanner, Sabitzer, Roca, Kouassi, Ulreich, Fruchtl, Tillman, Stanisic.

Image source, .

The gaffer's arrived...

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It wasn't certain Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti would be in the dugout for tonight's clash against his old club after testing positive for coronavirus, but a negative test on Wednesday morning and last-minute flight to London has seen the veteran boss join up with his team.