Former Arsenal star Charlie Nicholas has admitted that he does not fancy a Chelsea win against Lille in the Champions League.
Chelsea is slowly starting to find their groove under new club manager Frank Lampard as they recorded two wins the week but that was only after a 1-0 Champions League defeat to Valencia at Stamford Bridge as well as the loss against Liverpool.
Lampard has been giving his young guns the license to go out on the pitch and express themselves and that is paying great dividends as he is clearly encouraging youth. The 41-year-old has only one year of managerial experience prior to his appointment at West London when he was with Championship side Derby County and he almost carried the Rams into Premier league promotion.
But it wasn’t a smooth start for Lampard on his return to Chelsea as a manager as the Blues lost 4-0 on the opening day of the season against Manchester United and a few draws as well. Last weekend, Chelsea suffered a loss against Jurgen Klopp’s Reds and the midweek Champions League loss to Valencia in the Group Stage.
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The Blues now face another tricky tie in the European competition as they travel to France to face Lille in their Matchday 2 encounter. Chelsea has to kickstart their campaign by getting some points on the board in order to qualify into the next stages of the competition.
Lille sits fourth on the Ligue 1 table and finished as runners up to Paris Saint Germain last season. The French outfit will provide a stern test against Chelsea but Lampard faces a dilemma to field an experienced side that won at the weekend or a young group that dismantled Grimsby Town earlier in the week.
But ex-Arsenal star Charlie Nicholas has claimed that Chelsea faces a very awkward tie against Lille and that he favors the home team to win the game. The 57-year-old Scotsman has predicted a 1-1 draw for Chelsea in their first away game in the prestigious competition.
Author’s Take-
Chelsea has the ability to go out in Lille and play some attacking football with the likes of Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham but the issue will be the defending for Lampard. His team has struggled defensively and is short of options as well for the Lille clash. Hopefully, they manage to get a point on their travels because a loss will make it even more difficult to qualify for the next stage.
