Real Madrid and Chelsea will meet once again in the Champions League quarterfinals. They will compete against each other in the Champions League qualifying matches for the third time in a row. However, given the extensive renovations the English team undertook during the most recent winter transfer market, the duel will be very different on this occasion.

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly made a total investment of 359.5 million euros. A sizable investment that far outweighed the combined investments in the Serie A, LaLiga, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1. Enzo Fernández (121 million), Mykhaylo Mudryk (70), Benoit Badiashile (38), Noni Madueke (35), Malo Gusto (30), Andrey Santos (12.5), David Datro Fofana (12), and Joao Felix (11) are the eight players the London club signed during the last transfer market.

However, as was the case against Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16, Graham Potter will not be able to rely on every single one of them. And it is that, for the qualifiers, UEFA only permits teams to register three new players in the competition. A rule that forced the Chelsea coach to make a difficult decision. Finally, only the most well-known players, including Joao Félix, Mykhaylo Mudryk, and Enzo Fernández, were selected.

When making the difficult choice, Potter did not anticipate that Thiago Silva would be out for two months. This had an immediate impact on the team's plans because Fofana and Badiashile, who are filling in for the Brazilian in the blue defense, will not be available against Real Madrid. A situation that might prompt Chelsea's head coach to select Marc Cucurella as his third center back, as he already did in Chelsea's second leg match against Dortmund.