London, UK - Chelsea may be struggling a bit for consistency in the English Premier League but have so far kept their act together in cup competitions, where their next test comes Tuesday in the Champions League last 16 first leg against Lille.

The Blues are titleholders in the elite event and rated favorites against the reigning French champions.

While head coach Thomas Tuchel's side are 13 points off the Premier League top, they won the Club World Cup last month, are in the domestic League Cup final, and also still alive in the FA Cup.

It helps their cause that goalkeeper Eduard Mendy recorded four clean sheets in the six group games, as well as in their last outing Saturday – a late and unconvincing 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, courtesy of Hakim Ziyech's goal.

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Tuchel was quoted by the PA news agency as saying it was important "to be realistic and not over-expect from us" and to realize that "games against teams in mid-table or the lower end of the table can become difficult games."

However, he was overall confident that his players would deliver at Stamford Bridge, with the second leg in France on March 16.

"We are confident to have a good performance because we deliver on a high level in knock-out matches, cup matches, Champions League matches," Tuchel said.

The other Tuesday game sees Villarreal and Juventus meet for the first time while on Wednesday, Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Madrid with Manchester United to face Atlético Madrid once again.

Ronaldo has scored 25 goals against Atlético in his career. They include an extra time goal in 2014 and one in the shoot-out two years later, when the then-Real Madrid player Ronaldo helped beat Atlético in Champions League finals.

United has enjoyed mixed fortunes under interim coach Ralf Rangnick after Ole Gunnar Solskjär was dismissed, but a 4-2 weekend win at Leeds – in which they survived a hosts' fightback – should boost morale for the Madrid game.

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"I hope this experience will also give us additional energy for the Champions League and upcoming games in the Premier League," Rangnick said.

Wednesday's other game brings together former champions Benfica and Ajax in Lisbon, where the impressive tournament debutant Sebastien Haller is seeking more goals after already netting 10 in the Dutch champions' perfect group stage.

"Ten goals is OK. I would have declared you crazy if you had told me beforehand that I could score so many goals," Haller told the club website.

"It is a fantastic number. But it is also the result of the chances I am getting, thanks to the good game of the team. I could have even scored more goals."