Thomas Tuchel may be forced to make some drastic changes to his side when they welcome Lille to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night in their first leg of the Champions League Last 16.
Following a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace, the Chelsea manager will be forced to compensate for injuries and some notable out-of-form stars.
In defence, Tuchel will still be without Reece James and Ben Chilwell on either flank, which will likely lead to a back four of Marcos Alonso, Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva and then Cesar Azpilicueta at right back, should the Spaniard pass a late fitness test in time.
In midfield, the Premier League giants are still without playmaker-in-chief Mason Mount and as such Tuchel will probably stick with a midfield trio of N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic in a bid to dominate possession throughout the match.
It will be in attack that the Chelsea manager may be forced to make his most drastic change, following Romelu Lukaku’s truly abject performance against Palace on Saturday. Tuchel will likely feel as though he has no choice but to bring Timo Werner back into the starting XI, with Christian Pulisic and the in-form Hakim Ziyech in support.
How Chelsea could line up against Lille
