Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund: Blues hope to avoid another setback

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund, UEFA Champions League

The Blues will hope to overturn a narrow 1- 0 deficit when they host Borussia Dortmund for part two of their round of 16 clash on Tuesday, March 6th.

Chelsea will be hoping that they can successfully overturn a narrow 1-0 deficit against Borussia Dortmund when they welcome the German outfit for part two of their Champions League round of 16 tie on Tuesday evening. The Blues come into this contest having secured a gritty 1-0 win over Leeds that finally ended a horrible run of form that had seen them fail to win their last six games across all comps.

Graham Potter's job still is not 100 per cent secure as the Blues look set to miss out on European competition unless if they can spark a very late season revival to start working their way up the table - or go all the way in this season's Champions League. The English tactician will certainly be feeling the pressure, especially due to recent injuries to several key players, and on top of that, Chelsea have not had the best of luck in the round of 16. While they did win their second Champions League trophy in 2021, the Blues failed to get out of the round of 16 in four consecutive seasons - from 2014 to 2019 - and unless if they can turn things around, will see their European dreams end early once again.

By contrast, Dortmund have been in sparkling form since the start of 2023. Edin Terzic's side could finally end Bayern Munich's stranglehold on the Bundesliga title, and in fact, temporarily seized top spot following their 2-1 win against RB Leipzig over the weekend. Overall, die Schwarzgelben come into this contest on a ten-match winning streak across all competitions, including the aforementioned 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the first leg of their round of 16 tie.

Terzic's team are hoping to make it to their first Champions League quarter-final since the 2016/17 term, but will need to overcome a frustrating run of results that have seen them fail to win their last five European matches in London since recording a 2-1 victory against Arsenal a decade ago (in 2013).

Should the match finish scoreless, Dortmund will go through to the quarter-finals, but despite Chelsea's struggles to find the back of the net as of late, it's safe to say that the German outfit will not be simply playing for a 0-0 draw. The visitors will have to make do without the player who scored the only goal in the first leg, but will be hoping to finally end their London hoodoo and earn a spot in the last eight of this competition.

Team news: Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund

Chelsea: The Blues have been hit hard by injuries, with key players Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva all ruled out due to injury, while Mason Mount is suspended. However, they have been given a boost with the potential returns of Reece James, N'Golo Kante, and Christian Pulisic who could get involved in some capacity in this must-win tie.

Borussia Dortmund: The visitors will be without the services of Karim Adeyemi, who has been ruled out due to a thigh injury, while their first-choice shot-stopper Gregor Kobel could also miss this tie if he can't recover in time.

Match facts: Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund

Chelsea have won seven of their last nine home UCL ties
However, despite winning six of their first seven UCL home games against German sides (D1), they have failed to win their last two (D1 L1)
Borussia Dortmund have not won in London (L5) since beating Arsenal 2-1 in 2013
Die Schwazgelben, however, have progressed in five of their last six UCL ties when they've won the first leg
Dortmund are hoping to win both legs of a UCL tie for the first time since the 1996/97 season
They've lost seven of their last eight away legs in the UCL