Chelsea vs Lille
Newly crowned Club World Cup champions and reigning European champions Chelsea resume their quest to retain their Champions League crown when they host Lille in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie.
The Champions League 2022 betting odds have Chelsea as massive favourites to come away with an advantage after the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
But with the Blues’ recent performances looking far from convincing and record signing Romelu Lukaku still struggling, can reigning French champions Lille capitalise on Chelsea’s lack of form and leave London with a shock result?
Talking Points
Chelsea continue to look unconvincing
After their successful trip to Dubai at the Club World Cup, Chelsea returned to Premier League action with a 1-0 win away at Crystal Palace. The Blues had to battle hard and needed a late Hakim Ziyech winner to grab all three points.
Despite five wins in a row in all competitions, Chelsea have continued their concerning trend of unconvincing performances. Outside of matches against Tottenham Hotspur, they haven’t won by more than a single goal since Boxing Day.
After scoring a couple of potentially confidence-boosting goals at the Club World Cup, Romelu Lukaku once again looked ineffective against Palace as he failed to get a single shot off.
Lukaku has a couple of goals in the Champions League, but after another listless performance, Tuchel could drop the Belgian for Timo Werner, who has a team-leading three goals in this season’s competition.
On the bright side, Hakim Ziyech is on a fine run of form. The Moroccan winger has now scored in his last three Premier League outings and is likely to retain his starting spot in midweek.
With captain Cesar Azpilicueta, starting wing-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell as well as star midfielder Mason Mount all out, Thomas Tuchel played quite an unusual starting lineup against Palace. Andreas Christensen and Malang Sarr started at full-back, while Christian Pulisic was the third midfielder alongside Jorginho and N’Golo Kante.
Tuchel could be forced to stick with Christensen on the right if Azpilicueta and James are still not fit to play. But Marcos Alonso and Mateo Kovacic are expected to start after only coming on as substitutes against Crystal Palace.
Lille get key midfielder back
Lille will head into their Champions League round of 16 tie against Chelsea on the back of a goalless draw with relegation-threatened Metz on the weekend. The reigning French champions have had a disappointing title defence and are currently in 11th in Ligue 1.
Despite playing close to a full-strength side and controlling over 63 per cent of possession, Les Dogues could only get one of their 13 shots on target.
Perhaps their minds were preoccupied by their massive Champions League clash at Stamford Bridge. Amid their Ligue 1 struggles, Lille won their last three group games to top Group G.
On-loan Manchester United youngster Angel Gomes is a doubt to play after picking up a calf injury in the first half against Metz, but American international Timothy Weah came on as a substitute and is set to step into the starting lineup.
Renato Sanches also came on as a sub against Metz, his first appearance since suffering a calf injury which sidelined him for the last month. The 24-year-old Portuguese played the last 10 minutes and looks set to start against Chelsea.
Meanwhile, the front two of Burak Yilmaz and Jonathan David will continue to lead the line for Lille. The two strikers have been responsible for most of the team’s Champions League 2022 highlights; David has scored three goals while Yilmaz has two. Although, David is in the midst of a drought and has failed to score in his first six games of 2022.
History
Chelsea and Lille have met just twice before in the Champions League, both of which came in the 2019 group stage. Chelsea won both meetings 2-1. Tammy Abraham scored in both games for the Blues, while Willian and Cesar Azpilicueta were also on target.
Chelsea have a strong record at home against French opposition in Europe. They have won six of 10 matches, with three draws and just one defeat.
On the other side, Lille have won just one of seven away matches against English clubs. That came against Aston Villa in 2002 in the Intertoto Cup.
Betting Tip
 |
 | Chelsea vs Lille | Under 2.50 @ 2.29 |
| February 23, 04:00 (GMT+8) |
Chelsea are the biggest favourites in this batch of round-of-16 matches. SBOTOP odds have them priced at 1.31 to win the first leg, while Lille are massive 8.50 underdogs. A draw is at 5.20.
While Chelsea’s attack has been quite disappointing and hasn’t produced too many goals this season, their defence remains top-notch. Tuchel leaned on that defence all the way to the Champions League title last season, and don’t be surprised if he does the same amid their recent struggles.
Lille will struggle to break the Blues down, so it’s shaping up to be a low-scoring affair at Stamford Bridge.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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