Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel believes his side could be at an 'disadvantage' for their Champions League Quarter-final tie against Real Madrid due to lack of fans being able to support the team.
These concerns have been amplified in recent days with the EU's decision to sanction Roman Abramovich, meaning the Lille away trip could be the last European adventure for a fanbase who has been left in limbo during these turbulent times.
The Blues boss had said in a previous interview after Lille that he didn't have a preference as to who his side were drawn against as he wants the opposition - in this case, Carlo Ancelotti's side - to view his outfit as one that 'nobody would want to play against.'
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"I want us to be the team nobody wants to play. This is the role we see ourselves in this round of eight. It's a big step to do it again, again, and again. We fight for the top four places in the toughest league maybe in the world right now and we fight in the last eight again [in the Champions League]," Tuchel said in his post-Lille press conference on Wednesday night. "So this brings out the best in us and we want to be the team nobody wants to play against. So let's see what happens."
Fast forward to now and the current European and World Champions were the first to be drawn at the draw in Switzerland, with Los Blancos the opposition that stand in the way of successive semi-finals for the west London club.
Tuchel's side did defeat Zinedine's Zidane's side in last season's semi-final by a 3-1 aggregate margin over the two legs- a tie that was remembered for Christian Pulisic's inspired performance and Eden Hazard's struggles that led to a massive meltdown in the Spanish media.
However, this time round, the German is still expecting a 'tough' encounter against a side who sit 10 points top in La Liga currently and with no fans potentially attending, making it even more of a difficult 'challenge' in the manager's eyes.
"Tough one. The challenge can not be much higher than playing the second leg in the Bernabeu with spectators. It's a big challenge but there is bit excitement around this match and fixture. We know what's coming. It will be an exciting match and a tough challenge," he said in his pre-match Middlesbrough press conference on Friday morning.
"It's nice to play a European team and maybe not at this kind of stage a team you've played so many times in domestic competitions." He the went on to add on the prospect of no fans: "It would be a disadvantage, but this game is for spectators and the game changes with spectators. I'm sure everyone will fight for the chance. These games, any game, is for the spectators and the game is different if supporters are in the ground.
"I have trust in the board who are in dialogue with UEFA and the government here to maybe find out an exception or a logical exemption to find a solution to have fans in the stadium."
With it currently looking as though no fans will be able to attend either leg of the match, it remains to be seen whether or not any amendments can be made to Chelsea's existing license for the benefit of their supporters who will be eager to jump on the plane to Madrid to follow their beloved team.
Away from these complications, and Hazard's return could be a subject of real interest to the Blues with it being reported that they could look into a loan deal come the end of the season if they are able to enter the transfer market again.
