Carlo Ancelotti has suggested that he could use the same starting line-up which trounced Barcelona against Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg. Real Madrid will welcome Frank Lampard's side to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday evening as the sides hope to return to winning ways.
The Blues are now four games without a win following their defeat to Wolves at the weekend, while the Spanish giants lost 3-2 at home to to Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday. Real Madrid made wholesale changes following their El Clasico triumph, resting Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Federico Valverde in midfield, as well as Antonio Rudiger, Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Carvajal in defence.
Chelsea also rested numerous players ahead of their clash with Los Blancos. N'Golo Kante was omitted from the squad as a precaution, while Ben Chilwell, Mykhailo Mudryk and Christian Pulisic started on the bench.
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Speaking in the post-match press conference after Real Madrid's loss to Villarreal, Ancelotti teased his starting line-up to face the west London outfit. The Italian said: "In terms of the Champions League, it’s a defeat that doesn’t change our mood for Wednesday’s game, which will be different.
"I may repeat the same 11 from the Camp Nou. I made a lot of rotations today because the game against Barcelona demanded a lot from us physically and mentally."
Ancelotti also commented on the concerns his side faced when playing with four forwards. He added: "Balance is very important, but sometimes you plan a game so as not to have much balance taking into account the pros and cons.
"We wanted to have an open game, but today it cost us a lot to recover. They put us in balls between the lines and they attacked us from behind. If I put the four forwards [in] it is because I think that balance is not the most important thing. If I think about balance, I would have put a more controlled team in midfield."
Then, on Aurelien Tchoumeni, the former Chelsea boss said: "Everyone has been at a lower level than normal. Motivation was difficult to have at 100% after the Barcelona game. It's pretty normal. This defeat hurts us. I don't like to talk about individualities because only a few players have been at a high level today."
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