Travelling to Stamford Bridge with a slender 1-0 lead to protect, Borussia Dortmund aim to finish the job in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League affair with Chelsea on Tuesday night.

Karim Adeyemi’s sensational solo winner settled a tight contest at the Westfalenstadion three weeks ago, as Graham Potter goes in search of a priceless win that may just buy him some more time in the dugout.

In a first-ever Stamford Bridge meeting, Chelsea host Borussia Dortmund for this much-anticipated second leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie.

In need of an inspirational performance to progress after losing the first leg 1-0, capturing ‘Old Big Ears’ represents both the Blues’ only realistic hope of a trophy and their likeliest route into this competition next season after a stuttering Premier League campaign.

A 1-0 league win over Leeds last time out may have broken a six-game winless streak (D3, L3), but Graham Potter’s side have only managed four goals from their last 11 contests (W2, D3, L6) so doubts remain over their trophy-winning credentials.

Considering those goalscoring issues, Chelsea might have to lean on an impressive historical record of dealing with European adversity, having progressed four times across their last seven UCL knockout-stage ties when losing the first leg on their travels.

The battling Londoners could be boosted by looking at Dortmund’s recent away record in England, as the German club have lost on their last five trips there.

Such a stat is unlikely to be at the forefront of manager Edin Terzić’s mind though, especially with his side containing talent such as the highly-sought after Jude Bellingham, who has helped orchestrate Dortmund’s best-ever start to a calendar year (W10), bookended by a 2-1 win over RB Leipzig.

Whether that’s enough to see them secure progression here and continue their mission to emulate BVB’s UCL-winning 1996/97 side remains to be seen.

Yet whilst a club-record seventh successive tournament proper appearance means Dortmund are comfortable amongst Europe’s elite, they won’t be at full strength for this contest with first-leg match-winner Karim Adeyemi ruled out as part of a growing injury list.

Players to watch: Chelsea’s newly-signed youngster Mykhailo Mudryk’s first UCL goal arrived against another German club in the form of Leipzig during a matchday one win for Shakhtar Donetsk (4-1).

The more experienced Marco Reus arrives in hot form, having struck four goal contributions across BVB’s last three games (G2, A2).

Hot streak: Dortmund have scored the opener in their last eight competitive outings (W8).

Chelsea Champions League form:

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Chelsea form (all competitions):

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Borussia Dortmund Champions League form:

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Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions):

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Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Kepa; Chalobah, Koulibaly, Fofana; James, Kovacic, Fernandez, Chilwell; Sterling, Havertz, Felix

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:

Meyer; Wolf, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro ; Ozcan, Can, Bellingham; Brandt, Haller, Reus

Having eight shots on target at the Westfalenstadion but failing to make the net ripple just about sums up the confidence of Chelsea’s attackers right now, and winning against Leeds courtesy of a defender’s header may not lead to the massive injection of confidence that Potter requires.

As a result, the temptation to hold what they have should be very real for an in-form Borussia Dortmund, who can frustrate the Blues over the course of the 90 minutes and book their spot in the last eight, leaving a familiar sense of dread on the Stamford Bridge crowd in doing so.