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Lille (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Çelik, Gabriel, José Fonte, Reinildo; Soumaré, André; Araujo, Ikoné, Bamba; Osimhen
Subs: TBC
Lille has proved a fertile breeding ground for a raft of familiar faces and the odd superstar, none more so than Eden Hazard, a player Chelsea supporters still hold close to their hearts. Divock Origi, Sofiane Boufal, Idrissa Gueye and Djibril Sidibe all started their careers in earnest in northern France before skipping across the channel. As did a few Premier League greats: Pascal Cygan, Peter Odemwingie and Mathieu Debuchy. Now they boast José Fonte and Renato Sanches, whose last game against Chelsea saw him pass to an advertising hoarding. Hazard is at Real Madrid but is cherished by Chelsea, who could do with a win to get their Champions League tilt off the ground. Frank Lampard, captain when Chelsea won the competition seven years ago, knows they need to be savvier and smarter than they were against Valencia to get the wheels in motion. “It was a harsh lesson in switching off for a second and losing a match at this level,” Lampard said. “I think that idea ramps up even more when you travel in the Champions League and play away from home at stadiums like this against top European teams.” Lille, who are coached by Christophe Galtier, once assistant manager to Alain Perrin at Portsmouth, these days resemble a Premier League old boys’ club, with Fonte, Loïc Rémy and Sanches, who had a torrid time at Swansea, all likely to feature but they far from whipping boys; they finished second in Ligue 1 last season. As for Chelsea, they are boosted by the return of Kurt Zouma and Olivier Giroud, who missed victory over Brighton.
Kick-off: 8pm (BST)
Written by Ben Fisher
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2019/oct/02/lille-v-chelsea-champions-league-live under the title “Lille v Chelsea: Champions League – live!”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
