Borussia Dortmund got the better of Chelsea 1-0 in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 encounter on the 15th of February.
The game was ultimately decided by Karim Adeyemi’s solo goal in the second half, which left Graham Potter’s Blues squad with work to do in the return leg.
Karim Adeyemi‘s breakaway goal settled the tough contest against Chelsea at the Westfalenstadion as the pressured Blues manager Graham Potter went in search of a reprieve victory that may just buy him some more time in Stamford Bridge.
Traveling to Stamford Bridge with a slender 1-0 lead to defend, Dortmund would aim to finish the job in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League clash with The Blues on Tuesday night, March 7.
Chelsea vs Dortmund Team News
Chelsea Team News
Chelsea had suffered four consecutive Champions League last-16 exits between 2014-15 and 2019-20 before having a breakthrough in the 2020-21 campaign.
And from their last seven Champions League knockout clashes, in which they have lost the first leg away contest from home, The Blues have advanced from four of them.
Chelsea had a tight 1-0 victory against Leeds United on Saturday, March 4 thanks to Fofana’s header which ended his three-game run without seeing the back of the net for Chelsea.
Meanwhile, clashes against Leeds United and Borussia Dortmund are said to be crucial for the baffled Chelsea coach in determining Potter’s short-term future in the club’s dugout.
The former Brighton boss must certainly return normalcy to the bewildered appearance of the London club by turning their last-16 tie around as exit at this stage might be the last damage Potter will conduct in the West London giants.
The Stamford Bridge doctors are still working overtime on several players, with
Armando Broja, Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Thiago Silva are potential doubts and they are all expected to miss out as Stamford Bridge doctors are still working overtime on their recovery.
However, former Dortmund players Christian Pulisic, N’Golo Kante, and Reece James are likely to secure places in the squad.
England star Mason Mount, who was involved in a controversial tiktok dance and missed Premier League wins against Leeds United due to abdominal pain, will stay out of the second leg clash having incurred a one-game European ban for yellow card accumulation.
Borussia Dortmund Team News
On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund led by Edin Terzic have played 10 competitive matches across the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League since the Qatar World Cup, and they have remarkably won all 10 of them.
The most recent victory was sinking Leipzig 2-1 in Friday’s Bundesliga contest courtesy of Can and Marco Reus’s stunning goal efforts.
Dortmund are only trailing league toppers Bayern Munich on goal difference in the Bundesliga campaign.
Edin Terzic’s sides are striving hard to escape through the second Champions League quarter-final berth since the 2016-17 season and with the look of things, it seems the ticket is firmly within their grasp.
Some Dortmund players will also be absent from the second-leg battle on Tuesday night.
Youssoufa Moukoko will be missing out on the Champions League clash alongside Mateu Morey, Abdoulaye Kamara, Donyell Malen, and Julien Duranville.
The first-choice goalkeeper Kobel, is likely to miss out too after he was dropped out of the first XI against Leipzig due to a thigh complaint.
The club’s right-back Julian Ryerson will also be missing out due to suspension, but Marius Wolf was always going to get the nod here.
Following the winning goal in the first leg, Adeyemi has sustained a thigh injury and will play no part in Tuesday’s match but testicular cancer survivor Sebastien Haller will operate at the tip of the attack for Dortmund.
Chelsea’s possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Chalobah, Koulibaly, Fofana; James, Kovacic, Fernandez, Chilwell; Sterling, Havertz, Felix
Borussia Dortmund’s possible starting lineup:
Meyer; Wolf, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro ; Ozcan, Can, Bellingham; Brandt, Haller, Reus
Match Prediction
As a result of Chelsea’s failure to share points with the in-form Borussia Dortmund in the first leg, it’s been envisaged that Edin Terzic’s men will frustrate the Blues and possibly run them over at Stamford Bridge.
However, with pressures mounting on Graham Potter, he is aware of the need to surge the Blues squad to a better performance on Tuesday night, so a spoil on Stamford Bridge ground could be avoided.
The match is predicted to end in a 0-0 draw which still do Potter’s team no good seeing their Champions League dream thwarted without viable hope of qualifying next season.
Kick-off time for the Champions League round of 16 second leg between Chelsea and Dortmund is 9pm.
Do Chelsea have a chance of a dramatic comeback against Dortmund? Share your thoughts with us in the comment box below:
