Kick-off: 2000, 07/03/2023
Stadium: Stamford Bridge
TV: BT Sport
Chelsea were beaten 1-0 by Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League clash but will have taken plenty of positives from that game.
The Blues created a number of good chances at Signal Iduna Park and had eight attempts on target, compared to just two for their hosts.
With a little more composure in front of goal, 23/20 for Graham Potter’s side to progress is an attractive price for our initial Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund prediction.
Blues have the ability
Chelsea briefly seemed to have taken the lead in Germany when a Reece James free-kick ended up in the back of the net, but Thiago Silva had deflected the ball in with his hand.
Kai Havertz then teed up Joao Felix on the break but the on-loan front man fired his shot against the bar with the goal gaping.
Karim Adeyemi showed him how to finish off a counter-attack with a superb solo effort, outpacing Enzo Fernandez before rounding Kepa Arrizabalaga to score.
Emre Can cleared off the line after a Kalidou Koulibaly shot almost crept past Gregor Kobel, who later saved acrobatically from Fernandez.
“I thought we were the dominant team in the second half and we created a lot of chances,” said Potter.
“It is half-time in the tie and we have to regroup. We are a team in progress, we know there are a lot of positive things there.
“You always need a bit of luck but you can’t wait around for luck, you have to keep working.”
Chelsea have been struggling on the domestic front but ended a run of five Premier League games without a win when shading Leeds 1-0 here on Saturday.
That wasn’t a totally convincing victory but should have boosted morale enough to make them believe another triumph here is possible.
Looking at the Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund odds, we’re going with 2/1 for a home win to nil.
Dortmund are on a roll
Admittedly, Dortmund have been a winning machine since returning from the World Cup break and should be full of self-belief.
Friday’s 2-1 home victory over RB Leipzig made it 10 straight wins in all competitions.
Marco Reus and Can were on target as the Red Bulls stayed level with Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga table.
The quality of opposition in Germany hasn’t been great overall, though, so we’re not getting carried away with that record.
Reflecting on the first leg, head coach Edin Terzic said: “It’s great to come out on the winning side.
“There was a little bit of luck involved and we had an exceptional goalkeeper, but there’s no need to apologise after winning at home against Chelsea.”
We still believe the Blues are a better team, though, and playing at Stamford Bridge can help them to turn things around.
Let’s go for Potter’s expensively-assembled side to get the job done in normal time.
They are 4/1 to prevail by any two-goal margin and that completes our Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund betting tips.
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