“Don’t start them against Lille”, Tuchel told about three Chelsea players
The defending champions of the UEFA Champions League, Chelsea will look to retain the cup when they host French side, Lille in the Round of 16 at Stamford bridge.
The blues have a decent record against last season’s Ligue 1 champions as both were in the same group in 2019 and they got all six points from the French side by winning 2-1 in both legs. Chelsea are struggling to convert their chances in front of goal which means the manager needs to drop Belgian striker, Romelu Lukaku as he has not been in the best of form since his return from injury.
The manager should replace him with Kai Havertz and he should play as a false 9.
Thomas Tuchel should also take a risk in dropping Jorginho and replace him with N’Golo Kante. That will give Kovacic the liberty moving forward. Also, the partnership between Kante and Kovacic has been great and has solidified the midfield.