“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.
The experienced Yilmaz (36), in poor shape, has not scored with Lille in Ligue 1 for a month, while Jonathan David (22), top scorer for the Mastiffs this season, has 16 goals in all competitions.
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, qualified for the knockout stages of C1 for the second time in its history after 2007, hopes to play its card against Chelsea, defending champion and recent club world champion.
Lille: Leo Jardim - Celik, Fonte (cap.), Botman, Djalo - André, Onana, Xeka - Renato Sanches, David, Bamba.
Coach: Jocelyn Gourvennec (FRA)
© 2022 AFP