Chelsea will continue their UEFA Champions League title defence this Tuesday as they welcome Lille to Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the knockout stage of the 2021/22 UCL season.
Venue: Stamford Bridge (London)
Key Statistics
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last six games in all competitions (W5, D1).
They have won their last four games at home and are unbeaten in 15 games at home.
The visitors have kept five clean sheets in their last ten games in all competitions.
Lille have kept only one clean sheet in their last 20 away games in all competitions.
The hosts scored only seven goals in the UCL group stage. No side currently in the UCL scored fewer goals.
Head to head
Chelsea and Lille have met two times in UCL and Chelsea won both games.
Latest performances in all competitions
Chelsea: W-W-W-W-W
Lille: D-W-L-L-W
Chelsea
Defending Champions Chelsea will lock horns with Ligue 1 champions Lille as they continue their impressive haul of silverware.
Having recently won the Club world cup at the expense of Palmeiras, the Blues will be vying to retain their Champions League crown.
The round of 16 clash will see the Londoners play at home in Stamford Bridge. Although the away goal rule has been scrapped, they will hope to use the advantage of playing at home in front of their fans to secure a massive win against the struggling Ligue 1 champions.
Since taking up the Chelsea job, Thomas Tuchel’s team have been in imperious form and have somewhat turned into a trophy magnet. Under the German manager, Chelsea have won the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, and more recently the Club World Cup.
The Blues finished second behind Juventus in the group stages and will be aiming to make it six wins in a row after seeing off a stubborn Crystal Palace last weekend in the Premier League.
Chelsea remain in contention for all possible trophies available this season and a win against Lille will be a step in the right direction.
Possible Chelsea starting line-up
Eduoard Mendy; Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger; Christian Pulisic, Jorginho, Kovacic, Marcos Alonso; Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz; Romelu Lukaku.
Injured: Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell, Reece James
Doubtful: Cesar Azpilicueta, Callum Hudson-Odoi
Suspended: None
Lille
Lille will look to cause a major upset when they travel to North London to face Thomas Tuchel’s world Conquering team.
Despite being Ligue 1 title defenders, the visitors come into this tie as the underdogs and will relish their chance of making a statement.
In contrast to the Londoners’ five games winning streak, the French outfit have only won twice in their last seven matches and that leaves them fighting to keep a respectable position in the league they won last season.
They face the daunting task of overcoming a team that lost only one of their champions league group stages games. And any hopes of them qualifying at the expense of the Blues will be made even harder by the fact that Chelsea have only conceded three goals in their last five games; a trait that has been evident since Tuchel’s appointment.
The French outfit will be hoping for a positive result to take back home, pending the return leg as they continue their fight to make something out of their ailing season. Having been already knocked out of the Coupe de France by Lens, a win against Chelsea will certainly serve as a morale booster or a turning point to get their season back on track.
Possible Lille starting line-up
Léo Jardim, Jose Fonte, Sven Botman, Tiago Djaló; Gabriel Gudmundsson, Benjamin André, Amadou Onana, Jonathan Bamba, Timothy Weah; Jonathan David, Burak Yılmaz.
Injured: Angel Gomes
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
Chelsea 2-1 Lille
