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Chelsea’s stuttering form — last ten results read: WLWDWLDLWL — hit a new low in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Goodison, but we can’t dwell on that disappointment for too long. A must-win game awaits Tuesday night, when Lille come to town for the final match of the Champions League group stage.
A draw could be enough to advance as well, but would require Valencia to lose to Ajax, which is probable but not guaranteed. A loss would mean we’re out (since Valencia already own the tiebreaker against us) and back in the Europa League bracket instead. A win guarantees a place in the Champions League knockout rounds, regardless of who wins in the other match — and if that game were to finish in a draw, a Chelsea win would even make us group winners (since we own the tiebreaker against Ajax).
In any case, it’s a must-win.
The good news is that our injury list is down to just a couple, and Antonio Rüdiger might even be fit enough to play. It’s not likely, but it might be necessary.
The bad news is that Lampard did not rotate at all between the last two games, which means that all 11 of those players have started two games in the last seven days already, and they include many who are absolutely crucial to the proper functioning of this team.