The Blues have a slender 1-0 advantage from the first leg in Bucharest, sealed by that sensational overhead kick from Olivier Giroud, leaving the tie finely balanced ahead of a big night at Stamford Bridge.

Mason Mount and Jorginho are suspended for the hosts, while Tammy Abraham and Thiago Silva remain sidelined, meaning our German head coach will have to shuffle his pack a little. Likewise, Atletico are expected to make changes with players back from injury and suspension, making them a slightly different proposition, even if Tuchel expects a similar contest.

‘I believe every club has its DNA and with Diego Simeone, Atletico have become one of the toughest teams to beat in Europe over years and years,’ said the boss at his pre-match press conference earlier today.

‘They rely on a disciplined, hard-working, super organised defence but at the same time they have incredible quality to attack and play a possession game. For me, it’s a very complete squad and you have to be aware of everything.

‘I expect more or less the same match like in Bucharest. They have [Kieran] Tripper, [Jose] Gimenez and [Yannick] Carrasco back so that changes a little the structure and style of attacking because it gives them the freedom to attack with Carrasco and Trippier on the sides.

‘It will be a big challenge for us, like in the first leg, but we did an amazing match there and we want to repeat the same performance to be able to go through.’

The first leg’s staging at a neutral ground in Hungary due to Covid-19 restrictions denied Simeone’s men home advantage, something Tuchel wants his players to take make the most of as they welcome Atleti to the Bridge. He believes certain home comforts, even without the roaring backing of our supporters, could make the difference.

‘We have an advantage to play a home game at Stamford Bridge, which makes us very confident,’ he continued. ‘It is very good for us because we don’t have to travel, the setup is our usual setup, we feel happy to be in our hotel before and to have the same schedule like in normal games.

‘This is very, very good and maybe it can be the decisive percentage even that is on our side. We have big respect because we play against the leaders in Spain so we need to be very focused and concentrated, and to play a high-intensity match.’

Spanish opposition arrive in west London in the same week that Luis Enrique named his latest national team squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, with Kepa Arrizabalaga omitted from the group.

Tuchel acknowledged that the goalkeeper would be frustrated but insisted he was working well and doing the right things to win back favour for both club and country.

‘I’m pretty sure for Kepa that it’s a disappointment not to be selected right now but he is our player and it does not influence how we work with him, how we trust him and how we keep on going,’ explained Tuchel.

‘Would it be easier if he plays on a regular basis? Clearly yes but it’s not about personal objectives, it’s about Chelsea. Edou [Mendy] is the number one and he [Kepa] is the competitor for that so he has to be ready and I can only say he is doing exactly that. He is 100 per cent reliable, a top guy, top goalkeeper with top performances in training together with Willy Caballero.

‘Can we influence the decision of the Spanish national coach? No, we cannot. Everything he can do is focus and be ready. This is what he is doing and it’s why I’m super happy with him.’

Toni Rudiger followed Tuchel into the media room at Cobham for his own press conference ahead of the game, in which he reflected on how close he had come to leaving the club earlier in the season, as well as his ambitions for a new contract at Stamford Bridge.

The German is one of three defenders whose current deals are set to expire in the next 15 months, with an option in Thiago Silva’s contract meaning it can be extended for a further year from this summer. Andreas Christensen, like Rudiger, is contracted until the summer of 2022, and Tuchel indicated those conversations would be for a later date.

‘This is maybe the worst moment to talk about contracts, one day before a big match,’ he added. ‘Of course, everybody knows about the situation of these three players.

All of them have performed at a high level so from there we will take the decisions in the club and we will communicate when the decisions are taken.

‘Thiago is missing now since many weeks unfortunately, which is too long because we miss him a lot, but Andreas and Toni did fantastic jobs so far. We have to keep on going like this and the rest will be resolved.’

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