“We are going to play classic”, assured Lille coach Jocelyn Gourvennec when revealing his team composition at the microphone of Canal + Sport even before that of Chelsea was announced.
"In the animation, more on the sides, we will have + Jo + Bamba and Renato, we will play with + Ama + (Onana) and + Jona + (David) in front", he explained.
"We have Renato back, which is important for us. He feels better, it's good," he said of his Portuguese playing master, who is back from injury.
Left on the bench, the experienced Yilmaz (36), in poor shape, has not scored with Lille in Ligue 1 for a month, while Jonathan David (22), top scorer of the Dogues this season, has 16 goals all competitions combined.
In the cage, Gourvennec chose to retain his confidence in Leo Jardim, who replaced Ivo Grbic in early February after a match in which the Croat sank against Paris SG (5-1).
Lille are playing in the second C1 round of 16 in their history after 2007, against Chelsea, defending champion and recent club world champion.
The main surprise in the composition of the Londoners is the presence on the bench of Romelu Lukaku, even if the poor performances of the Belgian for a few months exposed him to this fate.
It is the German Kai Havertz who will be at the forefront, while Christian Pulisic has been chosen to animate the offensive left side, with Hakim Ziyech as alter ego on the right.
The rest of the composition is very classic with a defensive axis with three where Thiago Silva will be flanked by Antonio Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso being aligned in piston.
At the heart of the game, it was Mateo Kovacic who was preferred to Jorginho alongside N'Golo Kanté, a must in major events.
Chelsea: Mendy - Christensen, Silva, Rüdiger - Azpilicueta (cap.), Kanté, Kovacic, Alonso - Ziyech, Piulisic - Havertz.
Coach: Thomas Tuchel (GER)
Lille: Leo Jardim - Celik, Fonte (cap.), Botman, Djalo - André, Onana, Xeka - Renato Sanches, David, Bamba.
Coach: Jocelyn Gourvennec (FRA)
© 2022 AFP