Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund will both be without key players for the Champions League last-16, second leg tie on Tuesday night. With the German side taking a 1-0 lead into the game, the onus will be on Graham Potter's men to get their second home victory in a row to secure a passage to the quarter-finals but it will be far from straightforward.
Potter is working with the closest thing he has had to a fully-fit squad since taking over but was still without Thiago Silva, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic and N'Golo Kante for the 1-0 win against Leeds. This is without mentioning long-term absentee Armando Broja.
Ahead of the game he has been dealt a big boost for the hopes of reaching the next round, a match will may well define his career at SW6. In an open training session football.london reports that Reece James, Kante and Pulisic were all warming up together with the squad.
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James also missed the game at the weekend with a precautionary decision taken after the England international felt some tightness to his hamstring. The 23-year-old may well return on Tuesday night but is nevertheless far from a certainty to play due to his recent record. Speaking before playing Leeds, Potter said, “Reece just felt a little bit of tightness, which is sometimes understandable when he’s coming back from an injury.
"We’ve been assessing this week; we feel it’s too soon for the game on Saturday, but there’s a strong chance he’ll be available for Tuesday."
Now, before the European tie, he added, "Reece [James], we'll make a decision on him tomorrow." The Blues did go with near enough their strongest side available against Leeds and were rewarded with a first win in six matches and the first since January 15. Getting the better of their Bundesliga opponents is now effectively a bid to continue with any genuine goal for the rest of the season.
The Blues were also confirmed as being without Kante, though Pulisic is in line to return for the first time since January 5. "Christian Pulisic is in the squad, but it is too soon for N'Golo [Kante] but he's looking good."
Potter continued: "It's a complex one with him because he has had a long time out. It'll be a case of how we get him back up to speed to play Premier League or Champions League football. He won't be able to go back in for 90 minutes any time soon but the fact he is with us is exciting."
Although Edin Terzic's side have won ten in a row since the World Cup they also won't be at full strength. Youssoufa Moukoko remains out having missed the first leg. The 18-year-old has proved to be a star for Dortmund and attracted the attention of Chelsea before committing his long-term future to his boyhood side.
There may well be another attacking injury concern too, with first leg match-winner Karim Adeyemi ruled out, whilst his teammate Gregor Kobel also suffered a setback on Saturday. The keeper, who made several brilliant saves to deny Chelsea in the first leg, was due to start against RB Leipzig on Friday but was replaced in the side before kick-off.
Kobel was still named on the bench but it was Alex Meyer that started the game and Terzic admitted it wasn't part of the plan. “I honestly didn’t even notice, because when that happened I was with you,” he said to the pre-match broadcaster. “We have to wait, and we want to have an accurate diagnosis.”
Kobel kept his side in the first leg and would be a big miss for the visitors if he wasn't to play, although it may well help Potter's men in front of goal with the run of matches without scoring twice now extending to 13 games.
Meanwhile, for Chelsea, Mount missed the training session at Cobham having also been abscent from the squad at the weekend. Even if Mount is fit enough he will miss the game due to suspension, further adding to Potter's questions. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke and David Datro Fofana were also present but aren't available having been left out of the Champions League squad.
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