Three weeks after their disappointing 1-0 loss in Germany, Chelsea will have to bounce back against Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie this evening.
Champions League: Chelsea positive ahead crucial clash with Borussia Dortmund
Chelsea's English defender Reece James runs through on goal before being fouled by Dortmund's German midfielder Emre Can (L) during the UEFA Champions League, first-leg
-
Copyright © africanews
JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP or licensors
Raheem Sterling’s teammates are currently sitting in tenth place in the Premier league, 11 points behind the top four.
Graham Potter, who was praised at Brighton before being under intense scrutiny in London, will want his players to show more grit at Stamford Bridge and get a result which could salvage Chelsea’s season.
"Believe it or not, the mood has been positive throughout. It's not happy and joking and smiling when you're losing, of course not. But at the same time, there's been a support for each other and a good spirit and a good atmosphere" Graham Potter, Chelsea's head coach is.
With less money spent in the transfer markets and better performances on the pitch, Dortmund, , are on a 10-game unbeaten streak in the Bundesliga.
Sebastien Haller's teammates remain solid on the road in the league, and have conceded only two goals in their last five games.
While Cesar Azpilicueta and Thiago Silva are expected to be missing for Chelsea, Edin Terzic will have to do without his striker Karim Adeyemi, who scored the only goal of the game in the first leg.
In the other game, Brugge will be looking to defy the odds when they travel to Lisbon.
Scott Parker's men made too many defensive errors in Belgium and will need to overturn a 2 goal deficit against a solid Benfica if they want to make it into the last 8 of the competition.