Lille vs Chelsea preview, predictions & possible XIs
Chelsea take on Lille in their second Champions League match of the season on Wednesday as Frank Lampard hopes to pick up a first win in Europe.
The Blues suffered a 1-0 defeat to Valencia in their Group H curtain raiser a fortnight ago, but have since thrashed Grimsby Town 7-1 in the Carabao Cup and seen off Brighton 2-0 in the Premier League at the weekend.
For Lille, Christophe Galtier’s side have been producing some excellent football in Ligue 1 despite the loss of Nicolas Pepe over the summer, but three points will be vital at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy later this week after they were thrashed 3-0 by Ajax in their opening group game.
Read on for Lille vs Chelsea predictions, preview, team news and TV coverage information.
When is Lille vs Chelsea and where can I watch live?
Competition: Champions League
Venue: Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Date: Wednesday, 2 October 2019
Kick-off: 8:00 PM BST
TV coverage (UK): BT Sport 2
Form guide
Lille (DWDLW)
28 September 2019: Nice 1-1 Lille (Ligue 1)
25 September 2019: Lille 2-0 Strasbourg (Ligue 1)
22 September 2019: Rennes 1-1 Lille (Ligue 1)
17 September 2019: Ajax 3-0 Lille (Champions League)
13 September 2019: Lille 2-1 Angers (Ligue 1)
Chelsea (WWLLW)
28 September 2019: Chelsea 2-0 Brighton (Premier League)
25 September 2019: Chelsea 7-1 Grimsby (Carabao Cup)
22 September 2019 Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool (Premier League)
17 September 2019: Chelsea 0-1 Valencia (Champions League)
14 September 2019: Wolves 2-5 Chelsea (Premier League)
Ones to watch
Lille: Victor Osimhen
Lille reinvested heavily over the summer from the £72m acquired from sale of Pepe to Arsenal, with the most successful of their 13 signings thus far proving to be Victor Osimhen.
The 20-year-old Nigeria forward was secured for an exceptionally modest £10.8m from Charleroi, and well, Pepe’s void so far looks to have been well-and-truly filled as the youngster has begun the season like a house on fire, leading the Lille charts for both goals scored in Ligue 1 and assists provided.
Key stat: No Lille player has been directly involved in more Ligue 1 goals than Victor Osimhen (six goals, two assists) this season.
Chelsea: Mason Mount
With a transfer embargo prohibiting Chelsea’s spending power in the market this season, Frank Lampard has looked to utilise the club’s academy, and one youngster who has truly seized his opportunity is Mason Mount.
The versatile attacking midfielder has consistently improved this campaign, scoring three goals in the league so far, as well as proving quite the key player in Lampard’s starting XI, with the two-capped England international keeping the likes of Ross Barkley and Christian Pulisic out of the team when deployed either out wide or in the middle of the park.
Key stat: No Chelsea player has created more chances in the Premier League than Mason Mount this season (15).
Team news
Lille
Christophe Galtier has a large pool of summer recruits to choose from but remains without Timothy Weah, who continues to recover from a hamstring tear.
Predicted XI: Maignan; Celik, Gabriel, Fonte, Bradaric; Soumare, Andre, Bamba, Araujo, Ikone; Osimhen.
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Chelsea
Lampard continues to be without a number of key players including Antonio Rudiger, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Emerson, while Olivier Giroud and Kurt Zouma have both suffered from illness in recent days.
The Chelsea boss confirmed N’Golo Kante trained on Tuesday and will be assessed again on the day of the game, so there is a chance the Frenchman will be involved.
Predicted XI: Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Tomori, Marcos Alonso; Kovacic, Jorginho, Mount; Hudson-Odoi, Willian, Abraham.
Squawka prediction
Chelsea have shown improvements under Lampard since their 4-0 humbling at Old Trafford earlier this season, but Lille have also proven a deadly proposition in Ligue 1, so don’t let their 3-0 slip up against Ajax overshadow the threat Galtier’s side truly possess.
With the likes of Bamba, Ikone and Osimhen running at a Chelsea side without Rudiger and potentially Kante, the Great Danes should break their European duck on home turf, but so should Chelsea, with this matchup offering the potential for a very interesting and tight game.
Scoreline prediction: Lille 1-1 Chelsea
