Chelsea v Lille Betting Tips
Chelsea can consider themselves fortunate to have avoided some of the big guns when it comes to the Champions League last sixteen draw. The Blues finished second to Juventus in their group after a crazy 3-3 draw at Zenit, with the London side being paired with Lille twice in the space of a few hours after being drawn against the same team in the original draw.
Chelsea Warm Favourites to Reach UCL Last Eight
Thomas Tuchel guided Chelsea to a Champions League success last season, with the German looking to emulate this achievement and the London side are currently losing their struggle to finish above Liverpool and Manchester City in the table. Dropped points in the Premier League could lead to a sharper focus on European competition as was the case last term.
Chelsea will play the first leg clash at Stamford Bridge where they are strong favourites to claim a victory and it will be interesting to see if Romelu Lukaku is back up to full speed by then. The Belgian was supposed to be the missing piece in the jigsaw this term although it’s been a stop-start campaign for him thus far.
Are Lille a Good Bet to Qualify Against Chelsea?
Lille were champions of France last season against all the odds, although Jocelyn Gourvennec is struggling to get a decent tune out of the team domestically this time around. As it stands, they sit mid-table and some of their best performances have been reserved for the Champions League.
Lille finished top of a section that also included Sevilla, Red Bull Salzburg and Wolfsburg, with the French Ligue 1 team bouncing back from a slow start in the group to win away to Sevilla and then overcome Salzburg at home before a comprehensive 3-1 victory away to Wolfsburg.
However, this team were probably the plum tie for any of the group runners-up and we therefore think that Chelsea will approach the game with lots of confidence. While they had a few wobbles during the Champions League group stage, it’s likely that players such as Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante will be back for the resumption of the competition in February.