Confident Chelsea take on Lille
Chelsea have a tough trip to Northern France on Wednesday in the Champions League. Can Frank Lampard’s side produce on the biggest stage? Have a read of our preview here:
Chelsea dancing to Lampard’s tune
It has taken a little while but Chelsea have finally started to look like a side capable of gatecrashing the top-four. The question marks that hung over this young side in pre-season are still there but they are fading with every good performance.
The League Cup saw a number of big names fall at the hands of smaller sides from the EFL yet Chelsea emphatically despatched Grimsby Town with a 7-1 victory at Stamford Bridge. The win was not a shock but the nature of the performance and the dominance displayed was the work of a side full of confidence and belief.
This was clear to see again at the weekend when Chelsea comfortably beat Brighton 2-0 at home. The balance between experience and youth is important for the Blues, especially in big matches and the trip to Lille is certainly that.
Under Sarri, Jorginho had become a figure of derision but he has found a new role since Lampard took over and looks much better for it.
The Italian has scored as many goals in nine appearances for Chelsea this season (two) as he did in 54 games during the last campaign
Willian, another player who could be vital for Lampard as the season progresses, bagged his first goal in 17 top-flight games against the Seagulls at the weekend. He will need to produce a few more performances of that nature if Chelsea are to be in with a shout of Champions League qualification come May.
A Northern powerhouse
To say 2018/19 was a remarkable season for Lille is an understatement. Les Dogues had to wait until the penultimate game of the previous campaign to secure safety and then turned in some outstanding performances to finish runners-up to the billionaires of Paris Saint-Germain last season.
They have lost key men this summer in Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal, Rafael Leao to Milan and Thiago Mendes to Lyon not to mention Youssouf Kone and Anwar El Ghazi but they have started the new season in confident fashion, currently sitting 4th in the table after eight games.
New signing Victor Osimhen, who signed from Charleroi, has hit the ground running. The £10.8m addition is joint top scorer in Ligue 1 with six goals while Zeki Celik is another important player, making thrusting runs from full-back. They will be a match for Chelsea and it could be a good game.
Lille vs. Chelsea betting tip
With Chelsea starting to look a real threat going forward and Lille clearly able to find the net against their domestic opposition backing both teams to score in this one at odds of 10/13 is worth looking at here. To read a full RedZoneSports review click here.
Post bet chat James's Tips:
Huge credit to Frank Lampard and his team for getting the win in Northern France - not an easy place to go by any means