The first-ever meeting between Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea takes place at Westfalenstadion on Wednesday night, as the two teams lock horns in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

BVB progressed to the knockout rounds after finishing second in Group G behind Manchester City, while the Blues navigated their way past AC Milan, Red Bull Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb to secure top spot in Group E.

Even so, under pressure manager Graham Potter could become the first English manager to win five consecutive UCL matches and he remains confident his side can progress to the quarter-finals, ordering his squad to perform at their best to “earn the right to win”. He will know Chelsea’s record in the UCL round-of-16 remains patchy at best though, progressing from this stage of the competition just twice in their last six attempts.

Midfielder Julian Brandt is insisting Borussia Dortmund’s players can’t rest on their laurels if they want to keep their place in the team. The German outfit have racked up six successive competitive wins since the World Cup/winter break, scoring at least twice on each occasion, but Brandt believes the quality within the squad is too high to slow down and humorously quipped last weekend: “We cannot act like an otter now, lie on our backs and relax.”

Manager Edin Terzić has been aided by having a nearly fully fit squad to choose from, and as such his side has moved to within three points of top spot in the Bundesliga. The UEFA Champions League (UCL) takes priority this week though as Chelsea visit Signal Iduna Park for the first time, and Terzić will only be too aware that to set up a platform to progress, his side desperately need to improve on a winless record from their last dozen outings against British clubs (D3, L9).

Key battle: Dortmund’s Emre Can has seen three of his four home personal H2H meetings with Chelsea end 1-1 (L1), despite his side scoring first in each of those draws. He’ll attempt to thwart Kai Havertz, who has a shocking record against the German outfit, picking up a career joint-high five defeats in seven H2H clashes (W1, D1).

Hot stat: Dortmund have lost three of their last six home ties in the UCL last-16 stage (W2, D1).

Borussia Dortmund extended their winning run since the World Cup break to six matches across all competitions after securing a 2-0 Bundesliga victory away against Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Despite dominating proceedings, Edin Terzic’s side were struggling to find an opening for over an hour, but it took just 69 seconds for 18-year-old substitute Jamie Bynoe-Gittens to break the deadlock with a thunderous strike on the 67-minute mark, before Julian Brandt sealed the victory five minutes from time.

Dortmund currently sit third in the Bundesliga table and remain in a hotly-contested race for the title, with only eight points separating the top six teams with 14 games remaining.

The 2011-12 and 2020-21 champions endured a rocky start to their group-stage campaign earlier this season, with a shock 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb bringing an end to Thomas Tuchel’s reign in charge. However, the Blues bounced back under the tutelage of Potter and won their remaining four games to top Group E ahead of second-placed AC Milan.

Since a 2-1 away win against Red Bull Salzburg on October 25, Chelsea have failed to win any of their last nine matches on the road across all competitions, and securing a positive result against Dortmund on Wednesday could prove challenging as they have won only three of their last 11 away meetings with German opposition.

Borussia Dortmund Champions League form:

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Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions):

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Chelsea Champions League form:

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Chelsea form (all competitions):

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