Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund

Chelsea will be desperate to overturn a narrow 1-0 first-leg deficit when they encounter Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie at Stamford Bridge.

Graham Potter’s troops returned to winning ways last weekend with a hard-earned 1-0 Premier League triumph over Leeds United, ending an abysmal six-game winless streak in all competitions (D3, L3). However, a lack of firepower remains a genuine concern for Chelsea, as they’ve now failed to score multiple goals in 11 of their 12 competitive outings in 2023, drawing a blank seven times in the process. Despite their underwhelming form under Potter, the ‘Pensioners’ can absorb confidence from winning seven of their last nine Champions League matches at Stamford Bridge (D1, L1). Yet after racking up an eye-catching six wins in their first seven home meetings with German visitors in the Champions League (D1), they have gone winless in the last two in a row (D1, L1), sparking fear among the West London faithful.

As for Borussia Dortmund, defending a slim first-leg advantage would see them reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the second time in three years. Based on their imperious form in 2023, that shouldn’t be a daunting task, with Edin Terzic’s men winning all ten competitive games since the turn of the year, including a 2-1 home win over fierce Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig at the weekend. And if you’re looking for an omen, ‘Die Borussen’ have advanced into the next Champions League round five times from six ties in which they’ve won the first leg. But it’s worth noting they last won both legs of a Champions League knockout contest in 1996/97, so they cannot afford to underestimate their downtrodden hosts.