Chelsea is aiming to steal Borussia Dortmund‘s chances of qualifying in the playoffs of the Champions League. This is after Dortmund’s 1-0 win on the first leg of their Round of 16, inching them closer to the playoffs. That win gave Dortmund the confidence to go against a football giant like Chelsea. Chelsea on the other hand looks to overturn the results, so they can steal the qualification. As Dortmund are just 90 minutes away from entering the playoffs, Chelsea will not go easy on them. Chelsea just needs to overcome their one-goal deficit to stand a chance. This meeting will be on March 8, 2023, at 4:00 AM (GMT+8), and will be hosted by Chelsea.
This will be the first time that Chelsea will be playing as host for Dortmund, but they cannot see an advantage playing at home. The hosts won six of their first seven league matches against German opponents. However, recently, they see themselves as winless in their last two home league games against German teams. As for the visitors, they are also not doing well against English teams on their road league games. They experienced defeat in their last five away matches in the league against an English team. As the visitors won the first leg, a one-goal deficit is still not a safe advantage, which is why they need to protect it.
Chelsea
Chelsea have been miserable this season, and in fact are still fortunate to enter the Round of 16 of the league. Despite their recent results, they remain to be optimistic that they can overturn their results. In their domestic league, they had a surprising win against Leeds United. This win helped them to end their six-game winless run across all competitions, all thanks to Wesley Fofana’s goal. Many are at stake if Chelsea happens to lose in this match. Aside from the fact that they will lose their qualification, Graham Potter’s position is also at risk. They failed to be successful in the Round of 16, as t6hey exited four times in the league knockout stage. Moreover, they are in a pretty bad shape entering this match, so a win is not guaranteed.
This squad have numbers of players who are unavailable in this match, following their injuries. N’Golo Kante, Armando Broja, Edouard Mendy, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Thiago Silva are all expected to be unavailable in this match. Christian Pulisic, and Reece James on the other hand could be allowed to play in this game.
Borussia Dortmund
This squad is probably oozing with confidence when they play for the second leg of their knockout match. It was the goal from Karim Adeyami who gave a lead for the Dortmund on their first leg. With that, they are just 90 minutes away from entering the playoffs of the Champions League. This is not impossible though as they are doing well ever since they returned from the World Cup break. They won all of their 10 games since the World Cup, and are now at the top two of their domestic league. Dortmund are eyeing their chances against Chelsea, and are looking to improve their momentum coming into this game. If they successfully clinched a spot in the quarterfinals, it will just be their second since the 2016-17 season.
Julian Ryerson is suspended for this game, while Adeyami will be unavailable due to his thigh injury. Youssofa Moukoko, Mateu Morey, Abdoulaqye Kamara, and Julien Duranville are also out for this match. Kobel on the other hand is a probable, following his issues in his thigh.
Prediction:
Chelsea (1.5)
Odds: -0.84
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