Chelsea managed to squeeze past Crystal Palace in the Premier League this weekend but if they continue to play such mediocre football then it will be really difficult for the Blues to beat Lille.
Chelsea take on Lille in the Champions League Round of 16 this week and Thomas Tuchel will be under immense pressure to bring the rhythm back to his side. The Blues might have won the Club World Cup but Palace almost held them back on Saturday.
Lille are not in the best of form going into the first leg so Chelsea are obviously the favourites to pick up a win but it won’t be a surprise if the French side stunned the defending European champions. The London side haven’t lost their previous 16 home games and with the away goals rule scrapped, Tuchel has one less thing to worry about.
The manager though has several injury concerns going into Tuesday’s game and there’s a chance that he could once again opt for a change in formation. Tuchel dropped his favoured 3-5-1-2 system to use a 4-3-3 formation against Palace and there’s a chance he could opt for the same tactics once again.
No doubt Lille are going to throw the kitchen sink when they visit Stamford Bridge but Chelsea cannot afford to put everything into this game since they have to face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final next weekend. Any more injuries in midweek and the Blues might not be able to beat Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
Chelsea team news vs Lille:
Reece James and Ben Chilwell are ruled out and even Azpilicueta is a major doubt for this clash which means the Blues manager could once again be forced to use a 4-3-3 formation.
If a 4-3-3 is used and Azpilicueta is out injured then Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva will be the two central defenders while Christensen could once be forced to play as the right-back.
Hudson-Odoi is another player who is injured so Tuchel cannot take the risk of playing Christensen as the right wing-back.
Cesar Azpilicueta has NEVER made a mistake that has led to a goal in the Premier League…
He has been at Chelsea for NINE years.
Ridiculous 🤯 pic.twitter.com/B11mCeUe9Z
— Sporting Index (@sportingindex) February 15, 2022
Pulisic played as the third midfielder against Palace but on Tuesday, Mateo Kovacic should be coming back into the side to feature alongside Jorginho and Kante.
Ziyech scored Chelsea’s only goal on Saturday so he’s definitely starting but there’s a heated debate if Romelu Lukaku should start against Lille or not.
He was almost non-existent against Palace and now the manager will have to make the tough call of whether to bench Lukaku and bring in Timo Werner up front.
The Belgian international had a rating of just 6.5 out 10 against Palace and if form is the only thing that Thomas Tuchel is looking at then Romelu Lukaku should be starting on the bench against Lille.
Chelsea injury updates for Tuesday:
Reece James – Hamstring Injury – Ruled Out.
Mason Mount – Ankle Injury – Ruled Out.
Ben Chilwell – Ligament Injury – Ruled Out.
Hudson-Odoi – Knock – Doubtful.
Azpilicueta – Muscle Injury – Doubtful.
