Chelsea vs. Lille Betting Tips 23/02/2022

February 21, 2022

Benson Chikezie, Senior Author

Defending champions Chelsea begin the knockout stages of their title defense as they host Lille at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of their Round of 16 encounter. The game kicks off at 01:30 IST on the 23rd of February.

Fresh from winning the Club World Cup, Chelsea face a stern test in Lille, a threat to any team even when out of form. Lille won their Champions League group over the likes of Salzburg, Sevilla, and Wolfsburg. The match is certainly not the most exciting on paper but should be a great football game, nevertheless.

Teams Status

Here is the latest on the form and team news of Chelsea and Lille:

Chelsea

Thomas Tuchel’s men are fresh from the Club World Cup finals, which they won, and continue to compete on 4 fronts this season. They have lost just 1 game in all competitions since the turn of the year, with 7 wins and 2 draws. They sit 3rd in the EPL, with 13 wins, 8 draws, and 3 losses in 24 games. They have scored 48 goals this term and conceded 18.

In Europe, Chelsea lost the opportunity to win their Champions League group on the final day, and 2 points behind Juventus in 2nd place. They had 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss in 6 games, scoring 13 times and conceding 4. Timo Werner has scored the most Champions League goals for the Blues this season with 3 goals.

For their team news, Chelsea will miss Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Mason Mount, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who are out with varying injuries.

Lille

Lille are not having a season worthy of fireworks, especially in Ligue 1, where they are stuck in 10th position and a race for the final European spot, which they are just 2 points away from. In their last 5 games, they have recorded 2 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw.

In Europe, the French side won their group with 11 points from 6 matches, recording 3 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss. They scored 7 goals and conceded 4 across those 6 fixtures, with Canadian forward Jonathan David scoring 3 goals to be their top scorer in Europe.

For their team news, Lille will travel to England without forward Lihadji Isaac, who is currently sidelined with an injury.

What Do the Sportsbooks Say?

Chelsea	Draw	Lille
1.35	5.20	11.00
1.35	5.00	9.00
1.33	5.40	10.00

Bookies have named Chelsea heavy favorites to win this fixture for obvious reasons. On the Paripesa sportsbook, Chelsea to win is placed at 1.35 odds, a draw is 5.20 odds, while a victory for Lille is placed at 11.00 odds.
On the Sportsbet.io sportsbook, Chelsea to win is placed at 1.35 odds, a draw is at 5.00 odds, and a victory for Lille is placed at 9.00 odds. Chelsea to win is available on the Parimatch at 1.33 odds, a draw is at 5.40 odds, and a win for Lille at 10.00 odds.

Tipster’s Angle

Chelsea are in high spirits after securing their second trophy of the season and will hope to repeat the feat that saw them become champions in the UCL last season.

Lille are the underdogs in this encounter, no doubt, yet we expect a less than the conservative approach from the French team. We know the Champions League is full of surprises, so while a Chelsea victory is most likely, there may be surprises from the away side. Here are our tips for Chelsea vs. Lille:

Tip: Chelsea To Win @ 1.32

Although there is an outside chance of an upset, Chelsea go into this game in decent form and will most likely grab the victory. They boast a lot of quality in attack with the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Kai Harvertz, and Hakim Ziyech, and also in defense, where the veteran Thiago Silva is playing his best football yet. Chelsea to win is available on the Melbet sportsbook at 1.32 odds.

Tip: Over 1.5 Goals @ 1.20 odds

Either side will hope for a performance that will give them a foothold towards qualifying. Hence, we expect both teams to attack with real intent, and a result with over 1.5 goals is likely if that happens. There were a minimum of 2 goals in every Champions League Round of 16 game so far, except in the Real Madrid vs. PSG encounter, so we expect the trend to continue. Over 1.5 goals is available on the Sportsbet.io sportsbook at 1.20 odds.

Conclusion

Chelsea are favorites to win this fixture on paper, and rightly so, based on their recent form. We expect a somewhat conservative approach from the French side, which will change if they go behind first. It’s the Champions League, so we leave the door open for surprises.

Benson Chikezie

21:01, 21 Feb 2022

Senior Author

Benson Chikezie

Senior Author

21:01, 21 Feb 2022

Benson Chikezie is a Nigerian-based writer with many years of experience in the sports betting industry. He is a digital marketer by profession. Benson has written many sports related contents for various websites.