Chelsea hosts Lille in the first leg of the Champions League 1/8 finals. The match will be played on Tuesday, February 22nd at Stamford Bridge (London)
Chelsea finished second in their group. The Blues earned 13 points in six games. Juventus turned out to be higher, scoring three points more. The Pensioners gained four victories and one draw and suffered one defeat. They scored 13 goals and conceded four times. In four out of six games, Thomas Tuchel's men kept a clean sheet. Let me remind you that the Blues are the current holders of the Champions League trophy. In the final of the last draw, they were stronger than Manchester City (1-0). Nine of the previous ten home games in the Premier League ended with an exchange of goals scored. Such results were recorded: six victories, two draws, and two defeats.
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Lille sensationally made it to the playoffs of the Champions League. The Mastiffs, who are having a very mediocre season (they are only 10th in the French Ligue 1 standings after 24 rounds), took first place in their group. They earned 11 points and outranked Salzburg, Sevilla, and Wolfsburg. Interestingly, Lille had only two points after three rounds of the group stage (two draws and one loss). But the Mastiffs scored nine points in the next three games. Interesting fact: they gained two out of three victories on foreign pitches. In the last six away games in the Champions League, Lille gained only two victories and suffered four defeats. Interestingly, all matches ended with Over 2.5 goals scored.
In the 2019/2020 season, Chelsea and Lille crossed paths in the group stage of the Champions League. Then the Blues gained two victories with an identical score of 2-1. Eight of Chelsea's previous nine home games in the Champions League ended with “Both teams to score — no.” Of course, the Mastiffs deserve praise for the promotion to the playoffs. But I doubt very much that they will be able to go further. They got not just a strong opponent but the current winner of the Champions League, who probably expect to be at least in the semifinals. The Blues are likely to play very carefully. But Tuchel has enough cool performers who will be able to score in one of the counterattacks. Moreover, the defense of the Mastiffs is not ideal (35 goals conceded in 24 games of Ligue 1).
Prediction for the match: Chelsea to win with -1.0 handicap
