Champions League: Potter Plotting Chelsea Comeback over Dortmund

Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund

Amid their recent struggles, Chelsea are still very much in their Champions League round of 16 tie against Borussia Dortmund. The Blues went down 1-0 in the first leg, but after picking up a morale-boosting win over the weekend, Graham Potter’s side are now plotting a second-leg comeback at Stamford Bridge.

Although, Borussia Dortmund will be quite a dangerous foe. BVB continued their perfect start to 2023 with a 2-1 win over RB Leipzig and will be confident in their ability to progress to the quarter-finals.

Talking Points

Chelsea claim confidence-boosting win

Chelsea’s six-game winless run finally came to an end as they edged out Leeds 1-0 in their weekend match at home. Wesley Fofana, who was making his first start since returning from injury, got the winning goal which helped ease the pressure on under-fire coach Graham Potter.

After using a 4-2-3-1 formation in recent weeks, Potter switched to his more preferred back-three system, with Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Benoit Badiashile. Meanwhile, Kai Havertz, Joao Felix and Raheem Sterling started as the front three.

Felix and Havertz both had four shots in the first leg away from home as Chelsea outshot Dortmund 21-14. Although, the Blues were not clinical in front of goal, with Joao Felix hitting the woodwork.

Reece James missed the Leeds match due to a slight injury, but Potter said there is a “strong chance” James returns in midweek against Dortmund. Ruben Loftus-Cheek played at right wing-back against Leeds and will be on standby should James miss out again.

Potter will also have an important decision to make on whether he will stick with a back three in Dortmund. Badiashile is not part of Chelsea’s Champions League squad, and with Thiago Silva out, the Blues don’t have too many centre-backs to spare.

But Cesar Azpilicueta could be back after a stint in the concussion protocol, while Trevoh Chalobah and Marc Cucurella are also options to fill in at centre-back.

Dortmund out to defend perfect 2023 in London

Borussia Dortmund’s perfect 2023 continued as they beat RB Leipzig 2-1 in their big Bundesliga clash over the weekend. Marco Reus and Emre Can both struck in the first half to hand BVB their 10th straight win in all competitions in this calendar year.

Coach Edin Terzic has been starting a mostly settled lineup in recent weeks, and he is unlikely to make too many changes once again.

However, Terzic has been starting January recruit Julian Ryerson at left-back over Raphael Guerreiro in recent weeks, perhaps for more defensive solidity.

Ryerson got the start against Leipzig, and with Dortmund needing to defend a 1-0 lead, the Norwegian might be preferred once again to Guerreiro. Although, the Portuguese has been quite productive in the Champions League – he has 2 goals and the assist to Adeyemi’s goal in the first leg – and is vastly more experienced, so he could yet get the nod.

Adeyemi produced one of the top Champions League 2023 highlights with his brilliant goal at Signal Iduna park, and his continued absence will be a blow to Dortmund. His pace on the counter-attack would have been a massive weapon at Stamford Bridge.

But Dortmund still possess plenty of attacking options with the likes of Reus, Jude Bellingham, Julian Brandt, and Sebastien Haller.

History

Losing in the first leg is has not been an automatic death sentence for Chelsea historically. The Blues have lost seven times in the Champions League knockout stage, and they have would up progressing four times and have been eliminated three times.

Meanwhile, Dortmund don’t have the best record in England. They have lost their last five Champions League away games against Premier League sides.

Moreover, Chelsea have had a strong record at Stamford Bridge. They have won seven of their last nine Champions League home games, with their only loss coming against eventual champions Real Madrid in last season’s quarter-finals.

Betting Tip

SBOTOP Champions League 2023 betting odds have Chelsea installed as 1.94 favourites to beat Borussia Dortmund in the home leg. Meanwhile, BVB are priced at 3.45 to maintain their perfect 2023, and a draw is 3.35.

After an open first leg with plenty of attacking, the second leg in London could be a more cagey affair. Dortmund will likely set up more defensively to protect their lead and dare Chelsea’s misfiring attack to break them down. As a result, this could very well be another low-scoring match.

 

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