Surprise return, Callum Hudson-Odoi absent – 4 things spotted in Chelsea training ahead of Lille

At a blustery Cobham this afternoon, Chelsea's players took to the training pitches for the final time ahead of the Champions League Round of 16 first leg against Lille.

The Blues go into the contest at Stamford Bridge tomorrow evening as heavy favourites. Part of the reason for that is obvious: Chelsea are the reigning world and European champions. Another factor, however, is Lille have struggled for form this term.

The French side are currently eleventh in Ligue 1 – it's some drop off from their triumphant 2020/21 campaign in which they shocked Paris Saint-Germain to win the title.

Yet Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has warned his Chelsea players not to expect an easy ride. He knows Lille will post a threat.

"Last season they became champions which is huge in France," Tuchel explained during his pre-match press conference. "From that point, they lost players and the coach so there's a huge change.

"If the change is so big then there's a possibility that it takes some time to settle in. They lost another key player – (Jonathan) Ikone – in winter from their attacking formation. B

"But still, we all know how physical French football is, the offensive players are physical and fast. They are very brave in one-on-one challenges, they are always a threat on counter-attacks and disciplined against the ball.

"They have the chance to play this game as underdogs and have the mentality with nothing to lose and they will take it from there.

"It is like this always that you respect the game and the opponent. We will prepare our team like we always do and hopefully find the best performance that we usually do in knockout and cup matches and play a competitive match tomorrow."

This afternoon's session, undertaken in the final