Chelsea host Lille tonight in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at Stamford Bridge.
The holders head into their first knockout clash as strong favourites, with Jocelyn Gourvennec’s visitors currently sitting in 11th spot in Ligue 1 with no chance of successfully defending their title after a raft of key player and coaching exits.
Chelsea will still be on a high after their dramatic Club World Cup triumph against Palmeiras in Abu Dhabi, while Hakim Ziyech’s last-gasp goal gave them victory at London rivals Crystal Palace in their first Premier League contest for almost a month on Saturday.
It is a potentially defining week for Chelsea, who also face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Standard Sport’s James Robson outlines three key issues to solve for Thomas Tuchel ahead of tonight’s match...
Stick with Ziyech
Ziyech came up with the key moment against Crystal Palace and Tuchel needs to tap into his hot streak. The Moroccan has proved as influential as any of Chelsea’s forwards of late.
The key is what system they have to play to get the best out of him. He prefers to be used as a more orthodox winger with a back four, rather than having to play further inside when Tuchel uses wing-backs.
Either way, he is a man in form.
Play to Lukaku’s strengths
Much was made of Romelu Lukaku’s lack of involvement against Palace, but the blame cannot be laid solely at his door.
Chelsea knew the type of striker they were signing and it is up to Tuchel to come up with a solution to get the best out of their club-record signing. If Lukaku is to have any chance of rediscovering the form that fired Inter Milan to the Italian title last season then Chelsea must provide him with the service.
Get the ball to him in the box and he will score. Chelsea are still far too slow with their delivery to fully exploit his qualities.
Mean machine
Last season’s Champions League triumph was built on a water-tight defence and that is what Chelsea need to rediscover. Opposition teams were limited to very few sights on goal as Tuchel turned his team into one of Europe’s meanest.
They have lost that aura this term, with a 3-3 draw against Zenit in the last of their group games a perfect example.
Jorginho’s screening was absolutely pivotal to their success last season and they need the Italian to be at his very best if they are to retain their trophy.
