How we got here

Goals from Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic secured our 2-0 first-leg success on a night in which the Club World Cup trophy was paraded around the Bridge before kick-off.The Blues started strongly and established an early lead through Havertz’s powerful header. It crowned a fast Chelsea start but, as the half wore on, Lille grew into the game and their intensity troubled us at times. With Thiago Silva a monument to defending at the back, though, they did not conjure up any clear chances and had just two shots on target overall.On the hour, UEFA Man of the Match N’Golo Kante set up our second goal, carrying the ball from one box to the other and then playing a perfectly weighted pass to Christian Pulisic, who finished coolly. Kante was at his dominant best in midfield, while the movement of our attacking trio – Pulisic, Havertz and Hakim Ziyech – proved problematic for Lille.

Chelsea team news

Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso were highly influential overlapping from wing-back that night, and Tuchel was pleased to confirm the Spanish duo are fit to start today having not featured against Newcastle at the weekend.The significance of Azpilicueta’s availability is underlined by the fact the boss will be without Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who lost their ‘very tight race’ to make the trip. Saul and Ross Barkley have not travelled, along with long-term absentee Ben Chilwell.Ruben Loftus-Cheek is a booking away from missing a Champions League game through suspension.

A closer look at Lille

Last season’s unexpected French champions currently lie in sixth place in the Ligue 1 table. They have gone five games without conceding domestically, and since being beaten at the Bridge last month have picked up seven points from a possible nine, including an impressive 1-0 success away to Emerson Palmieri’s Lyon.Like Chelsea, draws have stunted their ambitions in the league, and they have some ground to make up if they are to qualify for this competition next season via their own domestic league.Lille have generally been much more effective in the first half of games this term - 70 per cent of their league goals have been scored during that time - and it was in the opening 45 minutes at the Bridge when they looked at their most threatening.Former Swansea man Renato Sanches impressed as an inverted winger that night, but the Portuguese is out of today’s game with a thigh injury sustained during Friday’s stalemate with Saint-Etienne.

Hatem Ben Arfa is a possible replacement having started each of LOSC’s last three fixtures, although utility man Gabriel Gudmunsson has also been deployed in a more advanced role recently. Lille do need to score at least twice to keep the tie alive, so they will have been pleased centre-forward Jonathan David ended his seven-game run without netting with a goal against Clermont 10 days ago. Another Jonathan, Bamba, opened his account for the season in the same game.Lille’s three Champions League home group games were cagey affairs: goalless draws against Wolfsburg and then Sevilla, followed by a 1-0 win over Salzburg that proved decisive in securing top spot in Group G.

Who is already through?

Whoever emerges victorious between Chelsea and Lille will be one of the last sides to book their place in the Champions League quarter-finals, along with the winner of tonight’s other match between Juventus and Villarreal. That game kicks off at the same time as ours, with the scores level at 1-1, although the Italians have home advantage for the second leg in Turin.

Therefore six of the eight teams to progress have already been decided, with Atletico Madrid and Benfica succeeding last night to join Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid in the next round.

A round of two halves?

Chelsea and Villarreal will be hoping to repeat what happened in last night’s games, when the two runners-up from the group stage progressed to the quarter-finals, with away victories in the second leg.That would represent quite a turn-around from the conclusion of the previous week’s last-16 ties, when all four of the group winners successfully navigated their way into the final eight, even if it took a dramatic comeback from Real Madrid, who were trailing Paris Saint-Germain by two goals with 30 minutes left.

Quarter-final draw

Once the full complement of eight qualifiers is known, they will go into the hat for the draw for this season’s Champions League quarter-finals, which takes place at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland at 11am UK time this Friday. The draw for the semi-finals will be held at the same time as the quarters.

There are no seedings in the draw at this stage of the competition and teams from the same country are not kept apart. With two of the other Premier League teams already making it through, Chelsea would have a good chance – 29 per cent to be precise – of getting an all-English tie should we join them.

No away goals

This Round of 16 is significant in that it is the first time Champions League ties are decided with no prospect of the away goals rule coming into play. It has been scrapped by UEFA for this season’s competition.

That means if the scores are level on aggregate after 90 minutes in Lille the match will go to extra time and, if necessary, penalties, regardless of where each team scored their goals. In contrast, under the previous rules, only a 2-0 win for Lille could have sent this tie to extra time after our win by the same scoreline in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.

Six ties have been played in this season’s Champions League knock-out stage so far, none of which have gone to extra time.

Score draws galore

Whether the rule change is a factor or not, one difference that has been noticeable in this season’s last 16 is the high number of first-leg draws. In 2020/21 there wasn’t a single draw in the corresponding matches and our 1-1 at Real Madrid in the semis was the only first-leg draw in the whole of the competition.

In stark contrast, half of the eight last-16 first-leg matches this time around ended in draws – all of them score draws, with two each finishing 1-1 and 2-2. Even Bayern Munich’s heavily one-sided 8-2 aggregate win over Salzburg was tied 1-1 after the first game in Austria.

You have to go all the way back to 2008/09 to find the last time there were as many as four draws in the first legs of the last 16. Even when you include second legs, the five draws so far this season are already more than were seen in the whole of last season’s knock-out stages.