Chelsea travel to Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park to face an in-form Borussia side on Wednesday for the round-of-14 first-leg tie at 20:00 GMT.
Borussia Dortmund will be looking to extend their brilliant form in the Bundesliga into their Champions League campaign.
Graham Potter’s new-look Chelsea will be looking for a win as they bed into the team a raft of new signings. After back-to-back draws, the Blues will be desperate to get a winning start to their two-legged tie against Dortmund.
Key Highlights
Dortmund Domestic Form
With five wins out of their last five Bundesliga assignments, Edin Terzić will be looking to transfer this form into their European tie against English side Chelsea.
This will especially be important for Dortmund if they can take a crucial step in the first leg at home ahead of their travel to Stamford Bridge.
The focus will be on maintaining the discipline, structure, and belief the team has had in the post-World Cup period when they face Chelsea on Wednesday.
Chelsea’s Selection
Graham Potter will be faced with significant selection headaches ahead of the game. Badiashile is not in the Champions League squad, which means the gaffer has to choose who to partner the indefatigable Thiago Silva.
With Kovacic and Zakaria potentially available, the manager will have to choose who partners Enzo Fernandez in the midfield.
Further forward, Potter will have to choose how many new signings he will field while also facing the challenges of fitting Mason Mount into this new-look Chelsea side.
Injury Report
Borussia Dortmund
Edin Terzić will be without the exciting young centre-forward Youssoufa Muokoko. In a blow to Dortmund, Muokoko ruptured his syndesmotic ligament on February 12th, which means he will miss the clash with Chelsea on Wednesday.
Dortmund will also be without right winger Julien Duranville. The 16-year-old is nursing a muscle partial avulsion.
Besides these two absences, Edin Terzić will have the rest of his squad available for selection ahead of the crunch clash with Chelsea at home.
Chelsea
Raheem Sterling was absent from the matchday squad that faced west Ham on Saturday after picking up a knock in training. The English international remains a major doubt for the clash in Dortmund on Wednesday.
Wesley Fofana has returned to training; however, this match might come too soon for the Frenchman. Midfielder Denis Zakaria has an outside chance of featuring in the matchday squad in Dortmund after returning t training.
Mateo Kovacic has been in training in recent sessions; however, he still is a doubt whether Potter will through him in the deep end on Wednesday.
Christian Pulisic (knee), N’Golo Kante (hamstring), and Armando Broja (knee) are all sidelined and will not feature against Dortmund. Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is also out with a fractured finger.
Possible Lineups
Borussia Dortmund
G. Kobel; R. Guerreiro, N. Schlotterbeck, N. Sule, J. Ryerson; E. Can; J. Brandt, M. Reus, J. Bellingham, G. Reyna; S. Haller
Chelsea
K. Arrizabalaga; B. Chilwell, T. Chalobah, T. Silva, R. James; E. Fernandez, R. Loftus-Cheek; M. Mudryk, J. Felix, M. Mount; K. Havertz
Prediction
Borussia Dortmund will look to play their high-tempo and high-energy style of football. They will press Chelsea when out of possession and move the ball vertically and fast when in possession.
Chelsea will look to take the sting out of the game by keeping patient possession and controlling the tempo of the match. They will also look to counter-press and attack with pace when opportunities arise.
Given Dortmund’s form, they are well-placed to take the win in this match and take a fantastic step in this tie ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge for the return leg.
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