Chelsea are back in action in the Champions League this evening after recently being crowned Club World Cup champions.
The Blues will now refocus on trying to retain the trophy they won last season, with Thomas Tuchel’s side facing potentially tricky opponents in the form of Ligue 1 side Lille.
Lille won their domestic title last season, so will be no pushovers, and it’s vital that Chelsea get their team selection right.
Big names like Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell are out of this tie, while there seems a decent chance that N’Golo Kante might not start the game as Tuchel manages his workload.
The big question will surely be what Tuchel decides to do up front after Romelu Lukaku’s recent struggles.
On balance, we imagine the Belgium international will still start at centre-forward for Chelsea, with this line up looking likely…
Chelsea fans will have to hope Lukaku can get back to his best in these big games, as he obviously has the ability to decide the biggest matches at this level.
For one reason or another, it’s not quite happened for the former Manchester United man at Stamford Bridge, but it seems a bit premature to be dropping him now at such an important stage of the season.
Lukaku may have barely touched the ball in the win over Crystal Palace at the weekend, but there’s perhaps a chance he’ll feel more at home in a European tie anyway.
Predicted Chelsea line up in full: Mendy; Rudiger, Silva, Christensen; Azpilicueta, Alonso, Jorginho, Kovacic; Havertz, Ziyech, Lukaku