Atletico Madrid and Chelsea will face off in the first leg of the Champions League on Tuesday.

The two sides entered the draw for the semifinals as notable underdogs with such teams as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid also in the pot. However, the two sides wound up facing one another and each has high hopes of making a run to the final.

How did they get here?

Chelsea was drawn into an "easy" group that included FC Basel, Schalke 04 and Steaua Bucharest. The team lost at home 2-1 against Basel in the opener before bouncing back with a 4-0 win over Bucharest. The Blues then destroyed Schalke 3-0 in two straight games before losing 1-0 at Basel in the fifth match. In the final group game, Jose Mourinho's team defeated Bucharest 1-0.

In the round of 16, Chelsea was drawn into a matchup with Galatasaray. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, the English side won 2-0 at home and advanced to face Paris Saint-Germain in the opening round. The opening game of that round was a disappointing 3-1 defeat. However, the side only needed a 2-0 win at home in order to qualify for semifinals; and Chelsea did just that with a late goal from the disappointing Demba Ba.

Atletico Madrid was placed into a group that included Zenit St. Petersburg, Porto and Austria Vienna. The team finished atop the group with five wins and one draw including 15 goals scored and only three conceded.

The team was then forced to take on AC Milan in the round of 16. After a tentative 1-0 win on the road, Madrid exploded for a 4-1 win at home that cemented the club as a top contender. In the quarterfinals Diego Simeone's team faced Barcelona and tied the Catalonian side 1-1 in the opening leg. In the return leg at home, Madrid scored an early goal and dominated Barcelona in a 1-0 victory. Shockingly, Madrid is the only team remaining in the tournament that has yet to lose a game this year in the UCL.

Top Players

Atletico Madrid has a plethora of big players that have bought into Simeone's system but none of them is more important that Diego Costa. The Madrid star has 35 goals in 46 games this season including seven in the Champions League.

Chelsea has relied heavily on Eden Hazard all season long and that is unlikely to change in this tie. He did not play this weekend and it is still not clear if he will return in time to lead Chelsea against Madrid. He has scored 17 goals this season for the Blues.

The other interesting story heading into this game is Thibaut Courtois. The netminder is on loan to Madrid from Chelsea and early reports indicated that he would not be playing against Chelsea in the round. However, UEFA has ruled that he will be allowed to play. He is arguably the best goalie in the world at the moment and could be a huge difference maker in this match.

Prediction: Atletico Madrid is home and has not endured a defeat thus far. Expect the team to take down Chelsea 3-0 at home.

The match kicks off at 2:45 p.m. EDT and can be streamed online on ESPN3. It can also be viewed on Fox Deportes.