After becoming the World champions, Chelsea will welcome LOSC Lille in the Champions League round of 16 game at the Stamford Bridge stadium.
The Blues have reached the knock-out stage of this competition after finishing second in their group which contained Juventus, Zenit St Petersburg and Malmo. The Old Lady of Turin topped this group.
Thomas Tuchel’s side are currently sitting in third in the Premier League with 47 points in 24 games. They were in the title race for the first half of the season but they have drifted off from there at the moment and are 16 points behind the league leader Manchester City. So, their only objective in the league will be to secure third place.
Meanwhile, the Ligue 1 outfit won their group which contained Sevilla, Salzburg and Wolfsburg. However, unfortunately despite winning the group, Lille will have to encounter the defending Champions in this early stage of the knock-out round.
Les Dogues have failed to replicate their form last season’s form as they are currently 10th in the league with 35 points in 24 games. So, it is highly unlikely that they will be able to qualify in any European competition next season.
Chelsea recent form in all competitions: D-W-W-W-W
LOSC Lille recent form in all competitions: D-W-L-L-W
Chelsea vs Lille team news:
Chelsea do not have many fresh injury absentees ahead of this fixture and the German boss Thomas Tuchel will have a pretty much full squad to choose from. However, the two wing-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell will remain sidelined due to injury issues. Mason Mount is in doubt after sustaining an injury in the Club World Cup final.
Chelsea predicted line-up against Lille(3-4-2-1):
Edouard Mendy; Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Callum Hudson-Odoi, N’Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, Marcos Alonso; Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz; Romelu Lukaku
Lille also do not have many injury absentees. Renato Sanches was among the injured players but he could be fit enough to feature in this crucial game at the Stamford Bridge stadium.
Lille predicted line-up against Chelsea(4-4-2):
Leo Jardim; Zeki Celik, Jose Fonte, Sven Botman, Tiago Djalo; Jonathan Bamba, Benjamin Andre, Xeka, Gabriel Gudmundsson; Jonathan Devid, Burak Yilmaz
Chelsea 3-1 Lille
It will be extremely difficult for Lille to come away with any positive against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
