Our prediction for this Champions League match:
Chelsea play host to Lille at their Stamford Bridge in the Champions League last 16, first leg. The Blues are on a quest to defend their trophy, and they are seen as hot favourites to win the upcoming double-header. Hakim Ziyech should keep his place in the starting XI after scoring a late winner at Crystal Palace, while both Ben Chilwell and Reece James continue to miss out with injuries. All Mason Mount, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Callum Hudson-Odoi are rated doubtful for the game.
Les Dogues, on the other hand, did well to win Group G, but Chelsea will pose a much bigger threat for the Ligue 1 champions than their previous rivals. Considering that the Blues are a real force to be reckoned with at home, we predict that Lille are going to return home empty-handed. Timothy Weah is likely to replace injured forward Angel Gomes in the starting XI, but there are no other fresh injury worries in the away side.
Highlighted Player (Romelu Lukaku):
Romelu Lukaku Bolingoli, born on 13th of ay 1993 is a Belgian player with roots form Congo. Lukaku played for several youth teams before he got picked up by RSC Anderlecht. After playing for only 2 seasons for Anderlecht Chelsea picked him up for around12 million euro.
Lukaku was never able to get a spot in the starting eleven of Chelsea and after playing for WBA he moved to Everton for approximately 35 million euro.Lukaku made his debut in February 2010 by the age of 16 and is one of the youngest players that player for the highest Belgian national team.
The biggest achievement of Lukakui is winning the Eerste klasse in Belgium and the English FA Cup. With his strength and goal scoring abilities Lukaku can be considered as one of the deadliest strikers of the world. Nicknames for Lukaku are Big Rom and the Tank.
Highlighted Team (Lille):
Lille have been playing an important role in French football ever since they were founded in 1944. Les Dogues won their first domestic trophy in the 1945/1946 season.
Lille did well to win their second Ligue 1 title in 1954 and 57 years later they lifted their last domestic title. Les Douges finished the 2010/2011 season in top position in the standings, eight points clear of second-placed Olympique Marseille and it has to be noted that Lille attacker Moussa Sow won the Golden Boot (25 goals).
Lille are one of the two teams that managed to win three consecutive Coupe de France trophies (1946, 1947, 1948), but they have yet to clinch the Coupe de la Ligue title. Les Dogues faced PSG in the 2015/2016 Coupe de la Ligue trophy, but les Parisiens proved to be a big catch for Frederic Antonetti’s team in the title game.
Lille play their home matches at Stade Pierre-Mauroy and the capacity of the stadium is 50.186. The venue was opened in August, 2017 and the construction cost €282 million.