Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund: Tuesday, 8:00pm
Team news
Mason Mount is ruled out for Chelsea through suspension. Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, N’Golo Kante and Armando Broja are injured.
Reece James is expected to return and Christian Pulisic could also feature. Kai Havertz will lead the line and Raheem Sterling is set to start again. Benoit Badiashile is ineligible.
Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel had to be replaced by Alexander Meyer after suffering an injury in the warm-up of the win over RB Leipzig.
Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi are doubts with Youssoufa Moukoko, Julien Duranville and Mateu Morey all absent. Marco Reus could start.
Recent Form
- Dortmund have won their last 10 matches in all competitions. They defeated Leipzig 2-1 last time out and are joint-top of the Bundesliga.
- Chelsea ended a six-match run without a win against Leeds on Saturday.
What has been said?
After the win over Leeds, Graham Potter said: “We have to attack better as a team.That’s my responsibility. It’s too easy to zoom into individuals and blame them. It’s a collective, we have to create more, do better, and that starts with me.”
Edin Terzic after the 2-1 win over Leipzig: “That was an absolutely top game, we’re very happy. We played very well in the first half, in the second half we defended passionately. We saved it over the line, it wasn’t easy to score a goal against us today.”
Verdict
Chelsea nicked a 1-0 win over Leeds at the weekend to end a miserable run of six games without a win. But they had to rely on a header from a corner from Wesley Fofana to break the deadlock.
Chelsea probably deserved the win, but it was hardly a turning-the-corner performance. Their long-time issues remain, they simply do not look like scoring goals.
Since the beginning of November Chelsea have scored just seven goals in the Premier League – only Everton have managed fewer.
Dortmund, like Chelsea, have not been prolific scorers of late, especially away from home. And they do not have a great record in England, losing 2-1 to Manchester City in September.
Edin Terzic’s men put in a decent performance at The Etihad and were only undone by a piece of brilliance from Erling Haaland.
Dortmund will arrive with a 1-0 lead and will not be too eager to go gung-ho at Stamford Bridge. That will leave the emphasis on Chelsea to get on the front foot, but there’s no recent history of the Blues being capable of breaking through a well-drilled XI.
As long as Dortmund cope with a few key absences they should have enough control to draw the game and progress into the quarter-finals.
Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund Key stats
- After winning six of their first seven Champions League home games against German teams, the Blues are now winless in their last two.
- Borussia Dortmund have lost their last five away matches against English sides in the UEFA Champions League.
- Chelsea have scored just twice in their last five home games.
- Dortmund have kept four clean sheets in their last eight games.
