BT Sport pundit Michael Owen is expecting Chelsea to record a comfortable first leg victory when they face Lille in their Champions League round of 16 tie this evening.
Having struggled in their domestic league so far this season, Owen believes the French side will be no match for the Blues:
“Lille won Ligue 1 last season, which was an amazing achievement, but they’ve struggled this year. They sit in 11th place domestically, and this is a huge step up for them. Lille did well to make it out of their group, but I fancy this will be as far as they go this season.”
Owen has gone with a 2-0 win for Thomas Tuchel’s men, which seems like a decent prediction. Lille did finish top of their group, having lost just one of their six matches, but their league form has been poor.
They are nowhere near last season’s levels, as Owen points out, and while they do have threats in their team, such as Jonathan David, anything other than a convincing victory for Chelsea would be a surprise.
Of course, nothing can be taken for granted, especially as the London club haven’t exactly been in great form recently, but they should come out on top tonight.
