Kick-off: 2000, 16/03/2022
Stadium: Stade Pierre Mauroy
TV: BT Sport
Chelsea head to France for the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie with a 2-0 lead and it would be a surprise if they fail to make it through to the quarter-finals.
A goal in each half from Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic secured victory at Stamford Bridge as the Blues made light of Romelu Lukaku’s omission.
The defending champions are expected to prove too strong once again in the second leg and the visitors to be leading at half-time and full-time at 2.75 is our opening Lille vs Chelsea prediction.
Lille Odds
Lille were certainly not outplayed at Stamford Bridge and had almost 50 per cent possession but looked much less threatening than their hosts.
Their time on the ball resulted in just two shots on target and Lille will need to be much more productive if they are to turn this tie around.
Boss Jocelyn Gourvennec said: “Of course we’re disappointed to lose by two goals, the regret is conceding avoidable goals.
“We weren’t beaten by incredible goals, it was from a corner and a very good move. It’s tough to take a 2-0 loss after what we created.
“Chelsea always take control of games and keep possession, but we did well in possession, it was almost 50-50 which shows we were part of this game.
“Maybe we could have been more efficient, and they were very clinical themselves when they had chances. They made very few mistakes and the ones that we made cost us.”
Lille’s three home games in the Champions League this season have produced just one goal, with 0-0 draws against Wolfsburg and Sevilla followed by a 1-0 win against RB Salzburg.
Breaking down Chelsea’s defence will be a tough task so the visitors to win and under 3.5 goals looks another good option at 2.40 in the Lille vs Chelsea odds.
Chelsea Odds
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel dropped Lukaku to the bench for the first leg and his team selection proved justified.
Germany forward Havertz nodded in Hakim Ziyech’s fizzing corner in the eighth minute, before Pulisic slotted home from N’Golo Kante’s threaded pass just after the hour.
Havertz impressed in the false nine role and both he and Pulisic were high octane in comparison to Lukaku’s laboured performances this season.
More of the same seems likely in France but Tuchel will certainly have plenty of options on the bench later on when we expect Lille to be chasing the game.
For the last of our Lille vs Chelsea betting tips, we’re backing another 2-0 win for the Londoners at 8.25.
Additional stats
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