Oooooh Tammy Tammy! It’s the striker’s 22nd birthday. Abraham is said to be in line for a call-up to the England squad, which Gareth Southgate names on Thursday. England take on Czech Republic and Bulgaria in Euro 2020 qualifiers this month. Nigeria have been trying to convince Abraham, who has scored seven goals in nine appearances, to pledge his international future their way.
The Chelsea skipper speaks. “We have been working hard on the way he [Frank Lampard] wants us to play,” says César Azpilicueta. “We want to bring every game the feeling of wearing the Chelsea shirt, to play with pride and give everything. The only way I can see this team going is up.” Did Lampard always seem destined for management? “Yes, you could see his intelligence on the pitch, the will to win. As a manager, he is the same, always trying to get better and improve. The hunger to win is still the same, even if he has transferred his motivation.”
Should he step off the bench, the 18-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi will make his Champions League debut, having made the bench two years ago against Barcelona. Christian Pulisic made his as a 17-year-old for Borussia Dortmund but Frank Lampard cannot find room for the young American among the substitutes. He has been an unused sub in four of Chelsea’s past five matches, playing 90 minutes against, er, Grimsby Town, in the other. And now he’s not in the squad. Pulisic, a £58m signing, last week said: “I want to play as many minutes as I can, that is really my goal, I want to be on the field … it is tough for me right now. It is very frustrating, but I will continue to work my hardest because I want to play.” Perhaps those comments didn’t go down too well with Lamps.
Team news news: N’Golo Kanté starts after shaking off a hamstring injury, while Willian makes his 300th appearance in a Chelsea shirt. Reece James starts but there is no space for Christian Pulisic or Ross Barkley in the 18-man squad, with the latter absent presumably as a result of spilling chips over a Liverpool cabbie’s backseat. Loïc Rémy is on the bench for the hosts:
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Team news!
Lille (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Çelik, Gabriel, José Fonte, Reinildo; Soumaré, André; Araujo, Ikoné, Bamba; Osimhen
Subs: César, Soumaoro, Xeka, Rémy, Yazici, Sanches, Bradaric
Chelsea (3-4-3): Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Tomori; James, Kanté, Jorginho, Alonso; Willian, Abraham, Mount
Subs: Caballero, Christensen, Pedro, Kovacic, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi
Referee: Aleksei Kulbakov (Belarus)
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Preamble
Lille has proved a fertile breeding ground for a raft of familiar faces and the odd superstar, none more so than Eden Hazard, a player Chelsea supporters still hold close to their hearts. Divock Origi, Sofiane Boufal, Idrissa Gueye and Djibril Sidibe all started their careers in earnest in northern France before skipping across the channel. As did a few Premier League greats: Pascal Cygan, Peter Odemwingie and Mathieu Debuchy. Now they boast José Fonte and Renato Sanches, whose last game against Chelsea saw him pass to an advertising hoarding. Hazard is at Real Madrid but is cherished by Chelsea, who could do with a win to get their Champions League tilt off the ground. Frank Lampard, captain when Chelsea won the competition seven years ago, knows they need to be savvier and smarter than they were against Valencia to get the wheels in motion. “It was a harsh lesson in switching off for a second and losing a match at this level,” Lampard said. “I think that idea ramps up even more when you travel in the Champions League and play away from home at stadiums like this against top European teams.” Lille, who are coached by Christophe Galtier, once assistant manager to Alain Perrin at Portsmouth, these days resemble a Premier League old boys’ club, with Fonte, Loïc Rémy and Sanches, who had a torrid time at Swansea, all likely to feature but they far from whipping boys; they finished second in Ligue 1 last season. As for Chelsea, they are boosted by the return of Kurt Zouma and Olivier Giroud, who missed victory over Brighton.
Kick-off: 8pm (BST)
