UEFA Champions League: Chelsea Look to Kill Off the Tie, Lille Hope To Knock Out Defending Champions at Home

• Defending champions Chelsea will travel to France to take on Lille in the UEFA Champions League this evening
• Chelsea hold a two-goal advantage over Lille thanks to Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic scoring in the first leg
• Lille have not lost in three games since they were beaten by Chelsea and will be looking to build on that momentum

Chelsea head into their UEFA Champions League round of 16 clash against Lille, knowing that they have a two-goal advantage over their hosts.

Chelsea beat the French side in England thanks to goals from Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic.

With a place in the quarterfinals of the tournament up for grabs, Chelsea will be looking to become the third English club to make the final 8 after Liverpool and Manchester City already qualified. The other English team, Manchester United, were knocked out by Atletico Madrid in yesterday’s fixture.

Form heading into the crunch encounter

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Chelsea left it late to beat Newcastle United over the weekend and consolidate their third place in the English Premier League, Fan Nation reported. Despite the numerous sanctions and issues affecting the club on and off the pitch, Chelsea have managed to block out the background noise and still pick up wins.

Lille finds themselves in sixth place in Ligue 1 but are four points behind the fifth-placed spot which will see them qualify for European football next season. The French side have also won two games and drawn one, since they last faced Chelsea, CBS Sports reported.

Possible squads for the Champions League clash

Chelsea will welcome back some of their more senior players, as a few familiar faces have returned to training. The Blues will be looking to get through the tie without picking up any more injuries, as they face Middlesborough in the FA Cup this weekend.

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Lille will be without the always dangerous Renato Sanches after the player picked up another injury. With a win still in reach, coach Jocelyn Gourvennec will field the strongest side he can for the match.

Lille's possible starting lineup:

Jardim; Celik, Fonte, Botman, Djalo; Bamba, Andre, Xeka, Gudmundsson; David, Yilmaz

Chelsea's possible starting lineup:

Mendy; Silva, Christensen, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Kovacic, Alonso; Ziyech, Havertz, Pulisic

Man United vs Atletico Madrid: Renan Lodi's goal ends Red Devils Champions League dream

In other news relating to English clubs, Manchester United's Champions League dream has been brought to a halt following their 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Round of 16 clash staged at Old Trafford.

Having settled for a 1-1 draw in the reverse tie played at the Wanda Metropolitano, the Tuesday night encounter at Old Trafford was more evenly poised, Sports Brief earlier reported.

However, despite United dominating the early exchanges of the meeting, they paid the ultimate price as they failed to make their dominance count in the final third.