Chelsea resume the defense of their Champions League crown when Lille pay a visit to Stamford Bridge for the first leg of their last-16 battle on Tuesday night. The European and world champions are at home first after finishing as runners-up in Group H behind Juventus. French champions Lille finished top of Group G ahead of RB Salzburg, Sevilla, and Wolfsburg, and are out to spring a surprise.
Hakim Ziyech was the savior for Chelsea over the weekend as he struck an 89th-minute goal to hand the Blues a slender 1-0 win at Crystal Palace in the Premier League. The defending French champions have struggled for consistency since the turn of the year, winning two, drawing two, and losing three of their seven games in 2022.
Form Guide: Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel’s men, who recently clinched their first-ever Club World Cup title, now turn their attention to the Champions League where they finished runners-up in Group H, two points behind Juventus.
Chelsea are currently unbeaten in each of their last six outings, including five straight wins in that time, and will look to keep the juggernaut rolling as they try to defend their European title.
Form Guide: Lille
Lille head into Tuesday’s game fresh off the back of a disappointing goalless draw with rock-bottom Metz in Ligue 1, where they are currently languishing in 11th place.
The faltering champions are still flattering to deceive in Ligue 1, though, as they were held to a goalless draw by relegation candidates Metz on Friday evening and travel to the English capital having won just two of their last seven matches in all tournaments.
How the match could go
The London team enter this game after claiming the title of world champions with an extra-time win over Palmeiras and a more recent win over Crystal Palace at the weekend, so they are certainly high on confidence.
Meanwhile, Lille are still struggling to find their best form and they remain 11th in the French league, far from defending their title or even fighting for spots in Europe for next season. With that in mind, we don’t see this game going any other way than Chelsea’s way, likely after the team leads at halftime as well.
Betting Predictions
Chelsea to Win
Chelsea should have a really easy game here today with the contrast in the seasons of both clubs. Although the Blues haven’t been particularly winning and are really sad that they didn’t take the opportunity of claiming the title, they would surely be ahead here today.
Chelsea have only lost one of their previous 10 home European matches against sides from France, so back them to come out on top here. They are meeting the 11th-best side from France, so back the Blues to edge out a narrow win.
On the other hand, Lille have endured a difficult defense to their title in France which means the Blues should have too much for a team that is down in 10th in Ligue 1. Bet9ja have 1.30, 1xbet have 1.33 and Paripesa have 1.33 odds.
Under 2.5 Goals
Chelsea have seen under 2.5 goals land in their last eight matches, while last season Thomas Tuchel’s men made it incredibly tough for European opposition. They kept five clean sheets in seven knockout games, all of which saw under 2.5 goals.
Lille have kept back-to-back clean sheets heading into this tie, so expect them to look to keep things tight at Stamford Bridge. The Blues aren’t looking all that expansive, so back under 2.5 goals in this clash. Bet9ja have 2.15 odds, Paripesa have 2.19 and 1xbet have 2.19 odds.
Anytime Goalscorer (Chelsea)
Lukaku
It’s been a rough season for the returnee to the club since Romelu Lukaku only scored ten goals so far in all competitions and he also struggled with injuries as well. However, with two goals in the group stages of the Champions League, he is only behind Timo Werner who scored three goals for Chelsea. After a poor outing against Palace at the weekend, he’ll be looking to redeem himself with a goal on continental front. Bet9ja have 1.90 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 2.05.
Ziyech
The Moroccan has been in inspiring form for the blues of late earning starts in the squad and goal contributions. One goal and one assist in the Champions League for him this season is not really impressive and he would want to turn his season around on that front. With at least a goal in three successive matches for the winger, there is no other player who is more assured to hit the back of the net here today. Bet9ja have 3.20 odds and Paripesa have 2.80 odds for him to score.
Anytime Goalscorer (Lille)
Jonathan David
He is one of the biggest threats Lille have today if they are to find a shock win. With 12 league goals and three goals in the UCL, the Canadian forward is not one to look down on. He will be looking to help his side try and get a goal here today as they play a very tough away fixture. Jonathan David netted the second goal of the game in each of Lille’s last two UCL away fixtures. Bet9ja have 4.30 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 4.00.
Yilmaz
The 36-year-old Turkish striker was the main man in their title-winning season and helped Lille clinch the title. This season has been lackluster for him as he hasn’t found the type of form that put him on the lips of everyone from before. He has scored only two goals in this season’s UCL campaign and he would be likely to lead the charge for his side here today. Bet9ja have 4.50 odds for him to score while Paripesa have 4.00.
Football Lover. All-round junkie of the beautiful game. Could be found watching football most of the time. If not he’s writing about them or making some punditry you don’t agree with. A certain bias for Arsenal and Santos FC.
