GRAHAM POTTER has been under intense pressure at Chelsea for the last few weeks but can ease some of the strain if he sees off Borussia Dortmund to book a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Stamford Bridge chiefs are showing remarkable patience with the former Brighton boss after getting little return for their massive investment in the squad over the last two windows.
Saturday's nervous 1-0 victory over Leeds was just Chelsea's second win in their last 12 games but at least it offered a measure of respite for Potter who will now be hoping to build some momentum.
Despite playing well in the first leg of this Champions League clash, it was Borussia Dortmund who won the game as Karim Adeyemi's wonder goal handed them a slender advantage.
Their form couldn't be in starker contrast to that of Chelsea, with Edin Terzic's side winning every game in 2023 since returning from the World Cup break.
Friday's 2-1 victory over RB Leipzig brought up Greg's Bet of the Day and Borussia Dortmund stand a great chance of ending Bayern Munich's domestic dominance in a thrilling five-team title tussle.
Winning the Bundesliga probably takes precedence over a long run in Europe but Terzic will still be looking for his side to kill off vulnerable Chelsea and keep building more momentum.
How the bookies view it
Borussia Dortmund are 8/11 favourites at Coral to qualify after their first-leg win, with Chelsea as big as 11/8 with Paddy Power. But it's a different story for a win on the night, with the Blues 13/14 at SBK and the German giants a tempting 10/3 at Bet365. A draw is enough for Terzic's side and that pays 14/5 with BetUK.
Head to head
That first-leg win for Dortmund at the Westfalen was the first competitive game between these sides. It was just Chelsea's seventh defeat to German opposition in 26 matches.
Players to watch
Raheem Sterling's return to fitness has given Potter another option in attack and his big-game experience could be vital here. The England star is 3/1 at Unibet for anytime scorer while the same firm price him at a decent 4/5 just to have a shot on target.
Marco Reus is in good form for Dortmund, with three goals in his last six outings. The skipper is on their penalties so looks overpriced at 6/1 with Unibet for anytime scorer. Reus was on the bench for the first leg but has been a regular since then so looks good value if he starts.
Anything else catch the eye?
I thought we'd see a few goals in the first leg but we only ended up seeing one as Chelsea's big-name stars misfired yet again. This should be a more open match with the Blues needing to overturn that 1-0 deficit so over 2.5 goals looks decent at 10/11 with Bet365.
Potter side won 10-5 on the corner count in Germany so that makes them worth a punt in that handicap for the return. Unibet price Chelsea -2 at 11/10 in the corner handicap and that looks pretty good value.
I'd expect Chelsea to have most of the ball and that makes the 21/20 on offer at Unibet for Dortmund to have most cards another good option.
This UEFA Champions League match between Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund will be played on Mar 7, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
