Chelsea vs Lille: Champions League team news and prediction
Fresh from their Club World Cup success earlier this month, Chelsea return to Champions League duties for the welcome of Lille tonight. The Blues will look to secure a first leg advantage as they seek to successfully defend their Champions League crown.
Ahead of tonight's game in west London, we provide all the necessary pre-match information, including where to watch the game, what time the Champions League clash kicks off, team news and probable XIs.
When is kick off?
Tuesday 22nd February, 20:00 GMT
Where is the match?
Stamford Bridge, London (England)
What TV channel is it on?
BT Sport 2
Route to the last-16
Winning four of six games was an impressive feat for Chelsea in Group H, particularly as one of those was a resounding 4-0 win over Juventus. Having lost the reverse fixture 1-0 in Turin, Chelsea just needed to beat Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg to wrap up top spot in their final round of games. However, a 94th-minute equaliser from Magomed Ozdoev condemned Chelsea to second spot as they were held to a 3-3 draw by Zenit.
Lille made a disastrous start to their Champions League campaign failing to win their opening three matches, drawing two. However, the Ligue 1 side recovered impressively in to win their final three group games, including a superb 2-1 win at Sevilla, and top Group G ahead of Salzburg and set up a last-16 meeting with Chelsea.
Team news
As has been the case for a while now, Thomas Tuchel is without injured wing-back duo Reece James and Ben Chilwell. The absence of the pair has forced Tuchel to move to a four-man defence and the Blues boss is hoping to have Cesar Azpilicueta fit for tonight's game after he missed Saturday's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace with a groin issue. Callum Hudson-Odoi is likely to miss out as is Mason Mount, with the latter having on eye on Sunday's Carabao Cup final. Romelu Lukaku may also drop out after he managed just seven touches at Selhurst Park.
For Lille, they have no real pressing injury concerns ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge. Orestis Karnezis is absent though wouldn't have started, with Leo Jardim set to feature between the sticks following back-to-back clean sheets against Montpellier and Metz. Angel Gomes was forced off midway through the first half against the latter, but has travelled to London. Nevertheless, he may have to settle for a spot on the bench. In midfield, Xeka, Benjamin Andre and Renato Sanches are battling for two spots.
Probable XIs
Chelsea (433) - Mendy; Azpilicueta, Silva, Rudiger, Alonso; Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic; Ziyech, Werner, Pulisic
Lille (442) - Jardim; Celik, Fonte, Botman, Gudmundsson; Weah, Andre, Xeka, Bamba; Yilmaz, David
Key Battle: Thiago Silva vs Jose Fonte
The battle of the experienced centre-backs. Thiago Silva and Jose Fonte have a combined age 75 with the former, at 37, the younger of the pair. Since joining from PSG, Silva has been a revelation for Chelsea and having penned a new deal last month that'll take him to the end of next season, supporters will watch on as the Brazilian continues to prove that age is but a number.
It's a similar story for Fonte, who has played every minute of Lille's Ligue 1 and Champions League campaign to date. Lille may not be as defensively sound as they were in their title winning season following the summer sale of Mike Maignan to AC Milan, yet Fonte has been vital in both their progression to the last-16 of the Champions League and a respectable turnaround to their domestic campaign following a poor start to their title defence.
With an aerial success rate of 68.6% across league and European duties, that rising to 73.3% in the Champions League, Chelsea need to avoid attempting to get the better of Lille in the air tonight as Fonte and young centre-back partner Sven Botman dominate aerially, but fans can expect the Blues to control proceedings on home turf with Silva an expert in distribution from defence.
Score Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Lille
