Frank Lampard’s Chelsea make the short trip to France in order to face Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday night having suffered a 1-0 defeat to Valencia in their opening fixture in Group H.
The West London outfit heads into the game against Lille on the back of their first clean sheet of the season which was achieved against Brighton & Hove Albion, but Frank Lampard still finds himself at a stage where he needs more results to match his team’s performances.
Losing out to Valencia came as a bitter blow on the opening day of the Champions League at Stamford Bridge, especially with English midfielder Ross Barkley missing a late penalty, and it puts more pressure on his developing squad when some of them are still just getting used to life in the first team.
While clean sheets and conceding goals have been an obvious problem, taking opportunities at the other end is also an issue at times, and Chelsea needs to develop a ruthless streak on a game-by-game basis if they are to restore themselves as a dominant force in Europe.
On a positive note, they displayed some positive attacking displays on their travels against Premier League opponents Norwich City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, with those results an indication that Lampard’s side will be more suited to playing away from home as the season progresses due to their ability to counter-attack.
Lampard revealed in Saturday’s press conference that French midfielder N’Golo Kante had picked up another issue with his hamstring, leaving the 28-year-old as a fitness doubt ahead of the trip to his native
Croatian star Mateo Kovacic is likely to get the nod over both Kante and Ross Barkley, with the front four staying the same unless Lampard decides to throw in star winger Callum Hudson-Odoi into the side after his impressive cameo at the weekend.
Although Kurt Zouma could return from illness, the defense should remain unchanged, providing that Andreas Christensen came through unharmed against Brighton after recent injury woes with his knee.
Chelsea possible starting lineup: Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Tomori, Alonso; Jorginho, Kovacic; Pedro, Mount, Willian; Abraham
