Chelsea's Premier League season has not gone to plan – that's an understatement. The Blues are sat way down in ninth-place in the Premier League table after 22 games, 10 points behind Newcastle United in fourth, but the Champions League offers a fresh opportunity for Graham Potter.
Results and performance-wise, it's not been the start to life as Chelsea head coach Potter would have liked or perhaps envisaged. One win in all competitions since the turn of the year does not make for good reading for the Blues.
The Champions League, though, is the perfect chance for Potter to win over some of his critics – and there are loads of them around – and prove himself as Chelsea head coach. The Blues have quite the love affair with the infamous European trophy; most recently lifting it back in 2021.
READ MORE: Graham Potter sends brutal message to Chelsea supporters with Champions League verdict
Borussia Dortmund are in great recent form, however, and will present a really difficult tie for Chelsea. Potter knows all about the quality the Black and Yellow possess.
"In a knockout competition anything can happen," the Blues head coach told reporters. "That's the thing. It's two games. I don't think it's valuable for us to look past Dortmund.
"We have the capability to beat Dortmund but they are also a strong side with the capability to get a result as well. We have to understand that, go to Dortmund with humility, with respect, and try to get the result.
"Obviously it's a tough match against a high-quality opponent. But at the same time, our team has got some good players."
Playing just a few days after Chelsea were held at West Ham United in the Premier League, Potter has some tough selection decisions to make for the trip to Signal Iduna Park. Some players are still returning to full fitness so there will be consideration in that regard from the Blues boss.
Reece James, who is arguably Chelsea's most important player, returned from a month-long injury against Fulham recently and has played just twice since coming back into the squad. James, as mentioned, is that crucial that he has to play away at Dortmund but that could mean he misses out at the weekend when the Blues take on Southampton at Stamford Bridge.
It's a similar story with Thiago Silva, who is now 38-years-old and is unlikely to be able to complete three lots of 90 minutes in a week. With Benoit Badiashile not included in the Champions League squad, expect the Frenchman to come in for Silva at the weekend should the Brazil international start in Germany on Wednesday.
Chelsea's Champions League squad in full: Edouard Mendy, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli, Trevoh Chalobah, Cesar Azpilicueta, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly, Thiago Silva, Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell, Enzo Fernandez, Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher, Denis Zakaria, Carney Chukwuemeka, Mateo Kovacic, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic, Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, Hakim Ziyech, Joao Felix, Charlie Webster (B list), Lewis Hall (B list), Armando Broja (B list).
Both Silva and James are likely to start in Dortmund because of their significance to Potter but the weekend may have to be sacrificed in order to do so. Meanwhile, Wesley Fofana, Denis Zakaria, N'Golo Kante, Christian Pulisic, Raheem Sterling and Armando Broja will all be absent for the trip to Germany due to injury problems.
Kante, though, is nearing a return to action. The France international, who has been missing since the second match of the season and is yet to play under Potter, trained with his teammates late last week, albeit doing very light work, football.london understands.
Pick your team to face Dortmund below
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