Chelsea won its last Premier League game at Crystal Palace 1-0 thanks to an 89′ strike from Hakim Ziyech. The Blues now turn to the UEFA Champions League’s Round of 16 to continue their trophy defense with a knockout round first leg against reigning French champion Lille. Chelsea’s attack, and most especially Romelu Lukaku, has not scored as much as the club and fans would have liked. Can he get on the scoresheet against a struggling Ligue 1 side?
Here is who Thomas Tuchel trusts to do the job at home against Lille:
Edouard Mendy (No. 16) Goalkeeper, Senegal
Tuchel has mentioned that Kepa Arrizabalaga is so good in the matches and in training that he could be Chelsea’s No. 1, so expect to see Arrizabalaga more often moving forward. This is credit to the Spaniard and it takes nothing away from Edouard Mendy’s brilliance either. The simple fact is that Mendy has done nothing to deserve to be dropped, so however well Arrizabalaga does in the absence of Mendy, it still would not justify changing your goalkeeper pecking order.
Andreas Christensen (No. 4) Right back, Denmark
Andreas Christensen played well against Crystal Palace in the last Premier League match. His composure and passing helped Chelsea in that match and those traits will come in handy again against Lille too. Interestingly enough, Christensen played right back against the Eagles, which may mean that the Dane may now have to be counted as a potential right back option going forward. Christensen is not likely to start over Antonio Rudiger and Thiago Silva in the actual centerback positions, so we might as well settle for auxiliary right back with Cesar Azpilicueta’s status up in the air and Reece James still sidelined for a few days with his long-term injury.
Thiago Silva (No. 6) Centerback, Brazil
The Crystal Palace game is one of the rare games where Thiago Silva was not the Blues’ best centerback on the pitch. Silva deserves all the respect for not just being a Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil or AC Milan legend, but a modern day footballing legend, as well. He’s arguably been Chelsea’s best player this season—an incredible achievement for a 37-year-old.
Antonio Rudiger (No. 2) Centerback, Germany
Antonio Rudiger, unfortunately, has shown that his tendency to leave his centerback partner on an island is still high. He played well against Crystal Palace and his passing was particularly good. Despite the aforementioned flaw in his game, it’s likely the only one. He’s ascended to incredible heights under the leadership of Tuchel and his next contract will reflect that fact.
Malang Sarr (No. 31) Left back, France
Malang Sarr created one of Chelsea’s two big chances in the match against Crystal Palace. His distribution is very good, despite what Twitter trolls will tell you in various comment sections. Sarr won many of his one-versus-one battles, contributing massively to the Blues’ recent clean sheet.