Chelsea v LOSC facts

Chelsea need a win against LOSC Lille to be sure of reaching the UEFA Champions League round of 16 as Group H concludes with three teams fighting it out for the two qualification places.

• The English side have eight points, level with Valencia and two behind Ajax, who host the Spanish club on Matchday 6. Chelsea will go through if they beat LOSC, or if they draw and Valencia lose to Ajax. The London side will top the group if they win and the match in Amsterdam is drawn.

• LOSC are certain to finish fourth having picked up only one point from their first five matches, which included a 2-1 home defeat against Chelsea on Matchday 2. Tammy Abraham's 22nd-minute opener was cancelled out by Victor Osimhen for LOSC 11 minutes later, but Willian settled what was the sides' first meeting in favour of Chelsea with the winner 12 minutes from time.

Form guide
Chelsea
• Beaten 1-0 at home by Valencia on Matchday 1, Frank Lampard's side responded with successive victories, building on their success at LOSC Lille with a 1-0 win at Ajax. They have drawn the last two games, however, coming back from 4-1 down to draw 4-4 with nine-man Ajax before a 2-2 draw at Valencia on Matchday 5.

• The 1-0 loss to Valencia on Matchday 1 is Chelsea's only European reverse at Stamford Bridge in 13 matches (W7 D5). However, the Blues are without a European home win in three matches (D2 L1).

• Third in last season's Premier League, Chelsea also qualified for the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League group stage as the winners of the UEFA Europa League, and are taking part for the 16th time; only once, as holders in 2012/13, have they failed to reach the knockout stages.

• The Blues were UEFA Europa League winners under Maurizio Sarri in 2018/19, beating Arsenal 4-1 in the competition's first all-English final since Tottenham overcame Wolves in the 1972 UEFA Cup. Eden Hazard scored twice at the Baku Olympic Stadium, Olivier Giroud and Pedro Rodríguez also finding the net as Chelsea claimed their second UEFA Europa League title having also triumphed in 2013, their only other appearance in the competition.

• The London club have scored three goals or more in six of their last 13 European matches. Their tally of 36 goals in last season's UEFA Europa League was one short of the competition record set by Porto in 2010/11.

• Chelsea were unbeaten in European competition last season, claiming the UEFA Europa League with a record of W12 D3 F36 A10. Before losing to Valencia on Matchday 1, their last continental defeat had come at Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg in March 2018 (0-3), although they did lose on penalties against Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup this August following a 2-2 draw after 120 minutes in Istanbul.

• Chelsea's last home game against a French side brought their first defeat, Paris Saint-Germain running out 2-1 winners at Stamford Bridge in the 2015/16 round of 16 second leg to win the tie 4-2 on aggregate.The London club had been unbeaten in their previous seven matches against Ligue 1 visitors (W4 D3), keeping a clean sheet in every victory.

• This season's victory at LOSC was only Chelsea's second in their last eight games against French clubs, home and away (D2 L4).

LOSC
• LOSC's sole point in this season's competition came thanks to a 1-1 draw at home to Valencia on Matchday 3. They lost 4-1 in the reverse fixture in Spain, and were beaten 3-0 away and 2-0 at home by Ajax in addition to the home defeat by Chelsea.

• Second in Ligue 1 last term, this is LOSC's sixth appearance in the UEFA Champions League group stage and their first since 2012/13. Only one of those previous five campaigns has extended into the knockout rounds, in 2006/07; seven years ago they finished bottom of a section including Bayern München, Valencia and BATE Borisov.

• Les Dogues won their last away group game before this season, 2-0 at BATE in November 2012; they have triumphed in two of their last six away games in the UEFA Champions League proper but overall have won only three of their 18 away games in the competition (D4 L11).

• LOSC's most recent foray into continental competition came in 2016/17 and lasted only one tie, Gabala of Azerbaijan running out 2-1 aggregate winners in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round (1-1 h, 0-1 a).

• The defeats at Ajax and Valencia have extended Les Dogues' run without a European away win to seven matches (D2 L5), since a 2-0 success at Grasshoppers in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

• The French club have lost four of their six matches in England (D1 L1), including 3-0 defeats in each of the last two – most recently at Everton in the 2014/15 UEFA Europa League group stage. LOSC's only goals in England came in their sole win, a 2-0 success at Aston Villa in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup semi-final second leg (3-1 aggregate).

• LOSC have scored only seven goals in their 13 matches against Premier League sides, conceding 13.

Links and trivia
• Loïc Rémy made 32 Premier League appearances for Chelsea between 2014 and 2016, helping them win the league and English League Cup in 2014/15. He also played in England for QPR (2013–14), Newcastle (2013/14 loan) and Crystal Palace (2017 loan).

• Have played together:
Tammy Abraham & Renato Sanches (Swansea 2017/18)

• Have also played in England:
José Fonte (Crystal Palace 2007–10, Southampton 2010–17, West Ham 2017–18)
Jérémy Pied (Southampton 2016–18)
Renato Sanches (Swansea 2017/18 (loan))

• Have played in France:
Michy Batshuayi (Marseille 2014–16)
Olivier Giroud (Grenoble 1999–2008, Istres 2007/08 (loan), Tours 2008–10, Montpellier 2010–12)
N'Golo Kanté (Boulogne 2010–13, Caen 2013–15)
César Azpilicueta (Marseille 2010–12)
Kurt Zouma (St-Étienne 2009–14)

• International team-mates:
Olivier Giroud, N'Golo Kanté, Kurt Zouma & Jonathan Ikoné (France)

• LOSC coach Christophe Galtier was Alain Perrin's assistant manager at Portsmouth from April to December 2005.

• On 18 June, Jonathan Ikoné scored in France's 2-1 comeback win against England on matchday one of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Abraham came on during the second half for England, with Mason Mount an unused substitute.

Latest news

Chelsea
• Chelsea have won only twice in their last seven matches (D2 L3), beating Aston Villa 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on 4 December but going down 3-1 at Everton on Saturday.

• The defeat of Villa was only the Blues' second win in five home games in all competitions (D1 L2).

• Chelsea have kept only three clean sheets in their 12 games at Stamford Bridge this season.

• Tammy Abraham's goal against Villa made it 11 in his first 14 league appearances this season; the only players to have scored more in their first 14 Premier League games for Chelsea are Diego Costa (12 in 2014/15) and Nicolas Anelka (12 in 2008/09). Abraham drew a blank at Everton on Saturday.

• Christian Pulišić scored a hat-trick in a 4-2 win at Burnley on 26 October, the second American to hit a Premier League treble after Clint Dempsey for Fulham in 2012.

• Aged 21 years 38 days, Pulišić became Chelsea's youngest Premier League hat-trick scorer; he beat the record set by Abraham 42 days earlier, in a 5-2 win at Wolves on 14 September. Those hauls for Abraham and Pulišić made Chelsea the first team in Premier League history to have two different hat-trick scorers in a single campaign aged 21 or under.

• Chelsea's team for the 2-0 win at home to Crystal Palace on 9 November had an average age of 24 years 88 days, their youngest ever starting XI in the Premier League.

• Chelsea were 7-1 winners against fourth division Grimsby in the English League Cup third round at Stamford Bridge on 25 September, their biggest win since a 6-0 defeat of Qarabağ on Matchday 1 of the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League. They last scored seven goals in a game on 23 December 2012, when they beat Aston Villa 8-0 in the Premier League.

• The Blues drew 2-2 against Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup on 14 August, losing 5-4 on penalties in Istanbul.

• Abraham missed the 1-0 home defeat against West Ham on 30 November with a hip problem, but recovered to provide a goal and an assist against Villa.

• Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been out since 16 May with an Achilles tendon problem.

• Antonio Rüdiger had been out since 28 April due to a knee injury before returning at Wolves on 14 September; he was withdrawn at half-time with a groin strain and has not played since.

• Ross Barkley has been sidelined by an ankle problem since 19 October, and has recently been unavailable through illness, although he was an unused substitute at former club Everton.

LOSC Lille
• LOSC picked up their first away victory in all competitions at the 14th attempt (D5 L8) thanks to a 1-0 win at Lyon on 3 December, Jonathan Ikoné scoring the only goal of the game.

• That also marked the first time this season Les Dogues had won successive Ligue 1 games following the 1-0 home defeat of Dijon on 30 November.

• LOSC made it three successive 1-0 wins with a home victory against Brest on Friday.

• Summer signing Victor Osimhen scored in LOSC's first six home games of the season in all competitions, eight goals in all, and was also on target against Dijon and Brest. His goal against Valencia on Matchday 4 is his only one away from home for LOSC.

• LOSC have won seven of their nine home league matches in 2019/20, dropping points only against Nîmes on 6 October (2-2) and Metz on 9 November (0-0).

• Timothy Weah has been out since sustaining a leg injury in training on 25 August.

• Adama Soumaoro (thigh) has not played since 2 November.

• Defender Reinildo was replaced against Dijon due to an ankle injury and missed the wins at Lyon and at home to Brest.

• LOSC staff members João Sacramento, the opposition observer, and goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos have left to join José Mourinho at Tottenham. They have provisionally been replaced by Fernand Da Cruz and former LOSC goalkeeper Grégory Wimbée respectively.

• On 30 November LOSC marked their 75th anniversary with a celebration at the Stade Pierre Mauroy.