Champions League Head-to-Head: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) v Timo Werner (Chelsea)

The Champions League returns on Tuesday evening as Chelsea travel to Spain to face 13-time winners Real Madrid in the first-leg of their semi-final. 

A 0-0 second-leg draw was enough to see the La Liga side coast past Liverpool in the quarters, courtesy of a 3-1 first leg victory a fortnight earlier.

Meanwhile Chelsea, who are also in the FA Cup final and in a commanding position in the race for the top four, beat Porto 2-1 on aggregate, despite losing 1-0 in the second leg.

Real Madrid have faced Chelsea more times in all competitions without ever winning than any other side, with the two European heavyweights having only met three times in their history, the most recent being the Blues’ 1-0 UEFA Super Cup victory over Real in 1998.

Thomas Tuchel’s side are in good form going into the match, having lost just twice in the German’s 21 games in charge, and keeping four clean sheets in their last six matches.

Benzema is Real’s top scorer in all competitions this season

Real, meanwhile, are unbeaten in almost three months in all competitions, and are still battling it out for the La Liga title with just five games remaining.

The match on Tuesday will pit two of the most expensive front lines in world football against each other.

Karim Benzema has stepped up since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and is Madrid’s top scorer this season, whilst Timo Werner has been quietly contributing to the Blues’ impressive season with 11 goals and 12 assists this term.

The German, who scored in the 1-0 victory over West Ham on Saturday, set up the opener in the 2-0 quarter-final victory over Atletico Madrid, but has not scored in the competition since the group stages.

Benzema, however, has scored five times in the competition this season, most recently against Atalanta in the last 16.

With both sides performing particularly well defensively in recent months, the battle between the two attacks could prove crucial in deciding who comes out on top. Here’s how both players (Benzema left, Werner right) have performed in the Champions League so far this term…

8                             Games                           9

662                   Minutes played                  617

5                              Goals                             3

0                               Assists                           3 

30                              Shots                              16

73,874 m      Distance covered      72,280 m

3                               Fouls won                      10

*Statistics by UEFA