Frank Lampard hasn’t enjoyed the best of times since taking over as Chelsea manager on an interim basis until the end of the season, losing his first three matches.
The Champions League quarter-final first-leg defeat to Real Madrid was sandwiched in between two Premier League losses and just when things couldn’t get any worse, the return tie against the La Liga outfit is next on the list.
The Blues still have a chance of making progression to the semi-final stage, with Madrid protecting a two-goal advantage, however, Lampard will need to get his side to pull out an exceptional performance to have any chance of doing so.
The Englishman rested a few players against Brighton on the weekend such as Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante in preparation for the European tie, and thus he should be ready to unleash both into the starting XI with hopes that they could play a major part in inspiring a stunning comeback.
Will N’Golo Kante start for Chelsea against Real Madrid?
The Frenchman has played just five times for the club this term due to a hamstring injury which has kept him out for the majority of the campaign, and he only made his return to first-team action at the start of this month.
He managed to play 75 minutes against Madrid in the first leg last week, and it appears his injury hasn’t affected his passing or defensive ability as he completed 82% of his attempted passes and made one key pass, one tackle and one interception in what was a woeful night for the Stamford Bridge outfit as whole.
The £290k-per-week maestro will take a while to get back up to speed, however, his tactical nous and professionalism means he should be the first name on Lampard’s team sheet, especially if he can replicate last season’s performances.
During the 2021/22 campaign, the 32-year-old was incredible, averaging a Sofascore rating of 7.1/10, ranking him as the ninth-best performer in the squad. Along with registering six goal contributions, Kante averaged 0.9 key passes, and won 4.6 duels per game, proving his worth across the midfield.
By succeeding with 73% of his dribble attempts and taking 0.7 shots per game, he also provides an unlikely attacking source which could certainly come in handy for Lampard if he allows the midfielder some added freedom and with the way the first leg went, he may need to throw the kitchen sink at Madrid.
Popular pundit Ally McCoist once dubbed the former Leicester City man as “magic” and although his season has been disrupted by injury, there is no doubt he has the ability to cause a few shocks to Madrid this evening and inspire an unlikely comeback.
Indeed, his world-class blend of defensive ability and ball-carrying prowess mark him out as precisely the type of man you want on the big occasion. Over to you, N'Golo…
