Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund Predictions
Chelsea Hope That Leeds Victory Proves to Be a Turning Point
Relief was the overarching emotion at Stamford Bridge after Chelsea beat Leeds United 1-0 on Saturday. Wesley Fofana’s goal was enough to give Graham Potter’s side all three points in a Premier League clash that could have spelled the end of the manager’s tenure had Chelsea been defeated.
It was thus a vital victory for Potter, who had previously overseen a six-match winless run in all competitions. One of those half-dozen matches was a 1-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of this Champions League last-16 tie.
Chelsea were arguably a little unfortunate to suffer defeat at Signal Iduna Park last month. Both teams had chances in an entertaining encounter, and on the balance of play the Blues deserved at least a draw. Chelsea’s profligacy in the final third ultimately proved costly.
In general, though, creating opportunities has been a bigger problem for Chelsea than converting them. They rank 14th in the Premier League for expected goals, a measure of chance quality. That puts Chelsea below relegation candidates such as Leeds and West Ham United.
Despite that 1-0 triumph over Leeds at the weekend, Potter’s team are 11 points adrift of the top four. They will therefore surely be absent from the Champions League next season, unless they can somehow triumph in this year’s edition of Europe’s foremost club competition.
That seems improbable, although Chelsea have upset the odds to be crowned European champions before. At this stage of both the 2011/12 and 2020/21 campaigns, few had the Blues down as potential Champions League winners, yet they lifted the trophy on both occasions.
A negative result on Tuesday would in effect signal the end of Chelsea’s season. The London outfit are already out of the FA Cup and they would have little left to play for if they were eliminated from the Champions League this week.
Borussia Dortmund Aim to Extend Remarkable Winning Run
Borussia Dortmund maintained their superb form on Friday, overcoming RB Leipzig 2-1 in a meeting between two Bundesliga title contenders. BVB remain hot on the heels of Bayern Munich after that victory over Leipzig, given to them by goals from Marco Reus and Emre Can in the first half.
Winning the title would be a superb achievement for a team that operates on a fraction of Bayern’s budget. Dortmund trail Julian Nagelsmann’s men on goal difference alone, with the two teams level on points after 23 rounds of fixtures in the German top tier.
The Bundesliga is no doubt Dortmund’s priority, but they also have a great chance of reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
They have only made it that far in the tournament in two of the last eight years, but the 1-0 victory over Chelsea last month makes them the favorites to advance from this tie with the best online sportsbooks.
No one would relish facing BVB the way they are playing right now. Terzic’s team have won 10 matches in a row in all competitions since the post-World Cup 2022 winter break. They are the most in-form team in Europe’s top five leagues right now.
Dortmund showed different sides to their game against Leipzig last time out. They played some fantastic soccer in the first half, then had to dig in to hold off an attempted fightback from their opponents after the break. BVB showed skill and quality, but also resilience and mental fortitude.
Borussia Dortmund Can Qualify for the Quarter-Finals on Tuesday
“Overall, we were pleased with the performance for big parts of the game,” Potter said after the first leg at Signal Iduna Park.
“We needed a little bit of luck maybe, and a little bit of final execution. We deserved a goal but have to keep going. It’s half-time. It’s a tight tie. We look forward to Stamford Bridge.”
The tie is certainly in the balance at the midway stage. But there is no doubt that the advantage belongs to Dortmund. They are 1-0 up and will arrive in London full of confidence after that 10th consecutive victory against Leipzig last time out.
Chelsea are struggling to score goals under Potter. They have found the back of the net only five times in their 12 matches in all competitions since the turn of the year.
In seven of those games, they have drawn a blank - including against Borussia Dortmund in the first meeting between the pair. And in Chelsea’s last 17 outings, they have scored two goals in a game on only one occasion.
That does not bode well for this meeting with Dortmund. Terzic has made his team much more streetwise in recent months, and BVB look more than capable of managing the game on Tuesday. With their counter-attacking pace and quality up top, we fancy their chances of coming out on top in the second leg.
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