Lille v Chelsea: free Champions League football tips, team news & odds

Free football tips, best bets and predictions for Lille v Chelsea in the Champions League.

Where to watch

BT Sport 2, 8pm Wednesday

Best bet

Lille +0.25 on Asian handicap
1pt 21-20 bet365

Team news

Lille: Teenage frontman Timothy Weah is a doubt.

Chelsea: Antonio Rudiger and Emerson have joined Ruben Loftus-Cheek on the sidelines. Ngolo Kante is a major doubt though Kurt Zouma and Olivier Giroud are fit again.

Match preview

Lille have created something of a fortress at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy where Chelsea could struggle to get the three points they crave to kickstart their Group H campaign.

Already on the back foot after losing 1-0 at home to Valencia two weeks ago, Frank Lampard’s men can ill afford to slip further behind in the race for qualification.

Lille, runners-up to Paris Saint Germain in Ligue 1 last season, find themselves in the same boat as their opponents after being cuffed aside by Ajax in their curtain-raiser.

It means the stakes are high but Lille look to be good enough – and with a formidable track record at home – to suggest they can at least avoid defeat.

The draw looks a reasonable punt but backing Lille +0.25 on the Asian handicap at odds-against ensures a profit with either a draw or a home win.

And home wins are what Christophe Galtier’s men are trading in at the moment.

Lille have won eight in a row in front of their own fans and have unearthed an absolute gem of a goalscorer in Nigerian youngster Victor Osimhen.

The 20-year-old has already bagged six in France, making him Ligue 1’s joint top scorer, with the rest of the Lille squad having scored just five between them.

He’s part of a front line who are pleasant on the eye but struggling to carve out that many chances. But teams who give former Charleroi starlet Osimhen space in the box will be punished and this Chelsea defence, minus Antonio Rudiger, is fairly easily breached. Only Norwich and Watford have shipped more goals in the Premier League.

Osimhen spearheads a young side who are going well but Galtier can also summon a fair bit of nous, including one-time Chelsea forward Loic Remy, Euro 2016-winning centre-back Jose Fonte and Renato Sanches, who has bowled up at yet another club in an attempt to finally live up to the promise. And apparently he looks good when he gets to play.

Chelsea are clear favourites and the Blues are certainly improving. They were luckless against Liverpool last weekend and excellent in Saturday’s 2-0 win against Brighton. Memories of their opening-day hammering at Old Trafford have well and truly faded.

They have scored eight goals in their last two away games – at Norwich and Wolves – and Olivier Giroud, a goalscoring regular on the road to Europa League glory last season, is fit again to challenge Tammy Abraham and Michy Batshuayi for a starting berth.

Lampard is getting Chelsea to click and they are certainly better to watch than they were under Maurizio Sarri.

Away-days in Europe, even trips as short as this one, aren’t always straightforward and a decent Lille side ought to be a match for them.