Kovacic dropped, Sterling call – Lampard's predicted Chelsea XI vs Real Madrid

Chelsea welcome Real Madrid to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening in a season-defining match for the Blues as they look to overturn a two-goal deficit against Los Blancos

Chelsea face undoubtedly the biggest game of their season on Tuesday evening as they welcome Real Madrid to Stamford Bridge, less than a week after being beaten 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

A place in the Champions League semi-final against Manchester City or Bayern Munich awaits the winner of the tie. Los Blancos have a two-goal advantage at the moment following goals either side of half-time from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio in the first-leg in the Spanish capital.

Going into the game, Chelsea are on a dire run of form. Frank Lampard took the interim job earlier this month and has only taken charge of three matches so far but has seen his side lose every single one of those. So trying to overturn a two-goal deficit against the reigning European champions looks like an almost-impossible job but Chelsea will be hoping they can use the Stamford Bridge crowd to their advantage under the lights in west London.

It is expected to be a much-changed side to the one that was beaten by Brighton on Saturday afternoon. Lampard used the opportunity to rest a number of key players with this game against Real Madrid in mind.

So, with that being said, football.london's Bobby Vincent and Tom Coley have done their best at guessing what XI Lampard will go with for the trip of Los Blancos to Stamford Bridge. Let us know if you agree with our selections in the comment section below the article.

Kepa Arrizabalaga – bar a real shock – will start in goal against Real Madrid. The back-four, or back-three, in front of the Spanish goalkeeper is the bigger and more challenging question.

Lampard went with a back-three at the Bernabeu and I could see him doing something similar on Tuesday. Kalidou Koulibaly was ruled out last week by Lampard with the 31-year-old defender suffering a hamstring injury in the first-leg. There could be a second successive start for Trevoh Chalobah, with Benoit Badiashile not in the Champions League squad.

Ben Chilwell is suspended after last week's sending off so Marc Cucurella looks likely to deputise at left wing-back with Reece James on the other side. Lampard might opt for a midfield two this week with N'Golo Kante and Enzo Fernandez alongside each other.

The front three is a difficult one to try and predict. Kai Havertz is the only Chelsea player to have featured in every Champions League game this season and he could come back into the side after starting the first-leg on the bench.

Mykhailo Mudryk could be given another chance with Lampard looking to use speed to try and hurt the Madrid back-four. Joao Felix is also expected to start against the European champions, meaning there could be no place for Raheem Sterling.

Bobby's XI: Kepa; Fofana, Silva, Chalobah; James, Enzo, Kante, Cucurella; Felix, Mudryk, Havertz.

Without Koulibaly, Chelsea have a real dilemma. Stick with the 3-5-2 or swap back to the 4-3-3 that has so far failed in the league. Going with the latter would be a massive risk against a side so adept with the formation but the absence of the 31-year-old creates a gap that is unlikely to be filled by Chalobah.

Whilst Lampard could repeat the trick played by Thomas Tuchel last year against the same opposition it would still mean playing Cucurella at wing-back, something no Chelsea coach has truly gone with yet, or using Fofana as a left-sided centre-back with James on the right and Ruben Loftus-Cheek on the flanks.

Midfield will be the key battle. The trio of Kante, Mateo Kovacic and Fernandez looks strong on paper but struggled in the away leg. They will need to get on the ball and help progress play better here. The forwards have the task of scoring at least twice to keep the game alive.

Havertz will surely return in order to give at least a semblance of a focal point whilst the pace of Mudryk make him a good option to compete against Dani Carvajal. Chelsea need a miracle and this team doesn't inspire the same confidence of previous comeback kings but now is the perfect time to start changing that narrative.

Tom's XI: Kepa; James, Fofana, Silva, Cucurella; Fernandez, Kovacic, Kante; Sterling, Havertz, Mudryk.