Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said Toni Kroos and Vinicius Jr., who missed their win over Cadiz this weekend, will be back for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Chelsea.
Both Real Madrid and Chelsea unsurprisingly rested a few key players ahead of the second leg match on Stamford Bridge on Tuesday but had different results.
Real Madrid secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Cadiz on Saturday, while Chelsea suffered their third consecutive defeat under caretaker manager Frank Lampard to Brighton.
In addition to that, Ancelotti confirmed that two key Real Madrid players are ready for the trip to London after dealing with minor injury problems.
“They will play on Tuesday,” the Italian said in his post-match press conference when speaking about Kroos and Vinicius.
“They couldn’t play today because they both had small issues.
“They trained separately today but tomorrow they’ll train as normal and be fine for Tuesday.”
Vinicius, in particular, caused so many problems for Chelsea’s defence in the first leg and effectively created both of Real Madrid’s goals in that game.
Chelsea, on the other hand, are likely without Kalidou Koulibaly, whom Frank Lampard said will be out for weeks due to a hamstring injury.
Kai Havertz also nursed a small fitness problem and missed the Brighton game, but he will likely be available for Real Madrid’s visit.
Lampard tried to experiment with different front threes in his first three games in charge but none of them really worked with Conor Gallagher’s deflected shot being their only goal under the caretaker manager.
Therefore, it makes sense if Havertz will return to the starting line-up for the second leg.
The Blues will need at least two goals on Tuesday, and the Germany international remains the club’s leading goalscorer despite his one-month goal drought.
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