Chelsea’s interim manager, Frank Lampard has said Real Madrid are favourites in the Champions League, ahead of their quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.

However, Lampard has urged his players to relish being the underdogs in the tie.

The game would be the former England midfielder’s second in charge of the Blues, after they lost 1-0 at Wolves in the Premier League last weekend.

Madrid are currently second in LaLiga, but thrashed Liverpool at the round-of-16 stage and hammered Barcelona 4-0 at Camp Nou to advance 4-1 on aggregate in the Copa del Rey.

“Are Real Madrid favourites? Yes and I understand why. That’s the difficulty of our season. I don’t think that is a problem.

“There is no better carrot in football than trying to prove people wrong, being the underdog and have a good result. It’s one of the best things I’ve been part of. I think that is a nice challenge for us,” Lampard said.