Chelsea braved past a stubborn Newcastle United to pick up a much-needed win in the Premier League and now they must focus on beating Lille in Europe.
The Blues head to France for the 2nd leg of the Round of 16 of the Champions League and all eyes will be on the London side to see how they carry themselves amidst a major financial restriction.
Chelsea take a 2-0 lead to the Stade Pierre-Mauroy and they are obviously the favourites to pick up a win but since there isn’t an away goals rule, the French side are expected to throw the kitchen sink at the English side.
Tuchel’s side have kept a clean sheet in 7 of their last 9 matches in the Champions League but they have just played on Sunday so fatigue is going to be a factor this week. The manager would love to rotate some players but the tie is not even close to being over so he can’t afford to name a second-fiddle side.
Chelsea team news and tactics vs Lille:
Thiago Silva was given a much-needed rest on Sunday so he will come back into the side against Lille. The manager has been using a 4-3-3 system in recent matches but we think he will revert to his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation.
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Reece James is a confirmed absentee for this match but Cesar Azpilicueta is expected to make a comeback. If Azpi is fit then only will the manager use the three-man central defence or else he is likely to stick with a conventional back-four.
Alonso was also rested on Sunday so he will also come back into the side and Thomas Tuchel will have to rest one of Jorginho or N’Golo Kante.
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Timo Werner had another poor outing against the Magpies and it’s almost certain that he will make way for Pulisic while Mason Mount should hold onto his place.
Romelu Lukaku has clearly fallen down the pecking order and with the tie finely balanced at 2-0, there’s no way the Chelsea boss is going to put Kai Havertz on the bench.
Havertz is the one who has been scoring the important goals for the Blues right now and he scored the only goal on Sunday as well. Lukaku will be available off the bench and since this tie could go into extra time, it will be a massive advantage to have a player like Lukaku as a substitute.
Read: Chelsea might not be able to finish the Premier League season claims its advisor.
Stats via Fotmob.
