OLIVIER GIROUD has revealed that Chelsea's French-speaking team-mates usually stick together when they travel away from home.

The striker is braced to start in the Blues' Europa League semi-final second-leg with Eintracht Frankfurt at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night.

Ahead of the build-up to the contest, Giroud lifted the lid on his team-mates and some behind-the-scenes snippets of life at the club.

When quizzed on his preferred company on away trips, he admitted that international compatriot N'Golo Kante is his travel partner and they bond over a game of Scrabble.

He told Chelsea's official website: "The French-speaking boys, N’Golo and Eden (Hazard), and in front of me there is Rudi (Antonio Rudiger) and Mateo (Kovacic).

"Most of the time we just talk about a bit of everything, we have a good understanding, and sometimes I play chess and scrabble with N’Golo – French scrabble but on a phone.

"I have to say that at chess, he is better than me but scrabble, I am far better than him!"

Giroud, 32, also revealed that if he had one choice of band to play at Stamford Bridge, he would pick Coldplay while conceding David Luiz is the biggest joker in the pack.

With a top four spot already sewn up, Chelsea can put all their energy in hoping to reach the final of the Europa League.

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Giroud heads into the contest as this season's top scorer in the competition with 10 goals.

With his contract expiring at the end of the season, the veteran is expected to be heading for the exit door.

But Chelsea's transfer ban, in which they have had their appeal rejected, means they may be forced to hand him an extra one-year extension.

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