Chelsea will look to reverse their bad fortunes and negativity around the club with a big result as they travel to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 showdown. This will be the first-ever competitive meeting between these two teams.
The Blues, who have won just two in their last 13 league games, played out a 1-1 draw at cross-London rivals West Ham in the Premier League over the weekend. The result left them languishing in 10th place in the Premier League after three straight draws.
The pressure is mounting on Graham Potter, who saw Chelsea spend over £300m in the winter transfer window to strengthen his squad.
While Chelsea are struggling to even threaten opponents, Dortmund are absolutely flying and winning games for fun, with Edin Terzic's men currently in the midst of a seven-game winning streak.
They beat Werder Bremen last Saturday to climb up to third in the Bundesliga and close the gap on Bayern Munich at the top of the table to just three points.
Potter will hope to use European football as a springboard to find some sort of form and results, but with so many players sidelined and a host of others still settling in following a hectic January window, it's difficult to see Chelsea out-performing a red-hot Dortmund side away from home.
Borussia Dortmund vs Chelsea confirmed lineups
Borussia Dortmund XI (4-1-4-1): Kobel; Wolf, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro; Can; Brandt, Bellingham, Ozcan, Adeyemi; Haller
Chelsea XI (4-2-3-1): Kepa; James, Thiago Silva, Koulibaly, Chilwell; Loftus-Cheek, E.Fernandez; Ziyech, Felix, Mudryk; Havertz.
Borussia Dortmund vs Chelsea LIVE updates
Chelsea's upcoming games
A win here would serve as a much-needed morale-booster for the Blues. Only time will tell whether they can get the better of a Dortmund side brimming with confidence. After facing Dortmund, the Blues turn their focus back to the Premier League as they host relegation-threatened Southampton, who have a new manager in Jesse Marsch.
Thereafter, the west Londoners will make the short trip to north London to face Antonio Conte’s stuttering Tottenham Hotspur, followed by a home fixture against Marsch’s former club Leeds United before completing the full circle and facing Dortmund in the UCL last-16 return leg at Stamford Bridge.