Chelsea - LOSC

- kick-off: 20:00 GMT

Sanches has been in fine form for Lille this season, in the 99th percentile league-wide for dribbles completed and the 97th for shot creating actions. He had missed two games with a groin strain, but came off the bench for the last 10 minutes of Friday's goalless draw with FC Metz.

Ligue 1 Uber Eats champions last season, LOSC won through to the Champions League knock-out rounds by topping Group G ahead of Red Bull Salzburg, Sevilla and Wolfsburg, posting victories over each.

Group winners

Les Dogues' European form stands in sharp contrast to their domestic, though - Jocelyn Gourvennec's men sit ninth on 36 points - but the coach will be glad to have Sanches available again and is confident his side can keep performing in on the continent, even if they travel to London as underdogs against the European champions.

"You can't draw any conclusions in terms of preparation for this match since we'll be in a completely different formation," the coach said between the Metz and Chelsea games. "Of course, we'd have preferred to have reassured ourselves ahead of Tuesday's match, but it'll be a different game altogether."

One thing that is certain is that first-choice right-back Zeki Çelik is available again having served a suspension against Metz. Léo Jardim looks to have ousted Ivo Grbic as first-choice goalkeeper, meanwhile.

Watch: the best of Sanches's three goals this season?

Unlike Lille, Chelsea failed to win their section, finishing second in Group H behind Juventus. The Blues took the title last season, though, and remain the betting favourites having also won home and away against LOSC in 2019.

Right-back Reece James was touted to return against Crystal Palace on Saturday, but like Ben Chilwell (cruciate ligament) and Mason Mount (ankle) he missed the 1-0 win.

Gourvennec's opposite number Thomas Tuchel, the former Paris Saint-Germain coach, was non-committal as to who might start at Stamford Bridge, and expressed particular concern for the second leg with the vaccination status of some of his players still in question.

'consequences'

"The players are aware of it," he said. "And at some point, everybody who is not vaccinated will face some consequences. Does that make it wrong that they are not? I'm not so sure about it. I simply don't know, I took my decision for myself. For us isolated as a club, isolated as a football team, there can be huge consequences.

"For example, if players are not allowed to travel to France, this can create problems for us in not being able to use key players."

Hakim Ziyech will hope to keep his place after hitting the winner against Palace, while the form of former Stade Rennais FC goalkeeper Edouard Mendy means that unlike Lille, there is no question as to who will be the home No.1 on Tuesday.

Probable teams:

Chelsea: Mendy; Christensen, Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso; Ziyech, Havertz; Lukaku

Lille: Jardim; Çelik, Fonte, Botman, Gudmundsson; Sanches, André, Xeka, Bamba; David, Yilmaz