Chelsea vs Lille 11/12/19

11 December 2019

Chelsea welcome Lille to Stamford Bridge for their ultimate UEFA Champions League (CL) Group H encounter, looking to pick up all three points and progress from this section.

Undefeated in their last four CL outings (W2, D2), the hosts need three points here to advance to the knockout stage, as they sit level on points with second-placed Valencia and two adrift of Group H toppers Ajax, who are going head-to-head in Amsterdam. Curiously, while both of their CL draws this term saw both teams score at least twice, both of Chelsea’s wins have come via a single-goal margin and witnessed them fail to take the lead into halftime. A possible setback in the Blues’ efforts to qualify for the knockout phase could be their unconvincing recent record against the Ligue 1 sides (W2, D2, L4). Also, Franck Lampard’s men have endured mixed fortunes in their last five competitive home games (W2, D1, L2), with three of those matches producing over 2.5 goals and seeing both teams score.

Meanwhile, the dead-last visitors have returned just one point from their five Group H fixtures so far (D1, L4), with three of their CL defeats this term coming via a multiple-goal margin. Additionally, both of LOSC’s CL road trips this season have seen them go down via a three-goal margin, scoring only once across those matches while conceding at least two second-half goals on both of those occasions. Les Dogues have also endured all sorts of problems on their previous six trips to England, losing four times while winning just once (W1, D1, L4). They are unlikely to improve that record here, given that Christophe Galtier’s men suffered seven defeats in ten competitive away matches this season (W1, D2, L7).