- Chelsea host Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night
- In the other round of 16 match on Tuesday, Club Brugge will make a visit to Portugal side Benfica
- SportsLeo takes a look at important numbers ahead of the two matches on Tuesday night
On Tuesday, Benfica is anticipated to advance to the quarterfinals while Chelsea must mount another UEFA Champions League comeback to escape being eliminated by Borussia Dortmund.
Dortmund enters the second match at Stamford Bridge riding a wave after 10 straight wins and is tied with Bayern Munich for first place in the Bundesliga after defeating RB Leipzig 2-1.
Edin Terzic’s team defeated Chelsea 1-0 thanks to a goal from Karim Adeyemi, and they now have a strong record in the tournament after taking the first leg of their knockout stage matches.
By defeating Leeds United 1-0 on Saturday, the Blues reduced the pressure on manager Graham Potter. In Europe’s top club tournament, the Blues have advanced more frequently after dropping a first-leg match.
In the second leg of their match at Estadio da Luz, Benfica leads Club Brugge 2-0, and Joao Mario will look to continue his impressive scoring streak in the tournament.
To anticipate the two games on Tuesday, SportsLeo selected the most noteworthy Opta data.
Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund forward Karim Adeyemi celebrates after scoring the winner against Chelsea in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16. | PHOTO: Independent |
Given that they have dropped five straight-away games against English teams in the Champions League since defeating Arsenal 2-1 in October 2013, Dortmund may need the slight advantage they had in the first match.
In Dortmund, Chelsea lost the first leg of a Champions League round of 16 match for the eighth time, but on the prior seven occasions, they had advanced four times.
The only team to mount a second-leg comeback and eliminate Dortmund at this point of the 2020 season was Paris Saint-Germain. However, in the previous six matches in which Dortmund had won the first leg, they had completed the task to advance.
For the first time since the 1996–97 campaign, when they defeated Auxerre and Manchester United twice en route to winning the trophy just once, the Bundesliga championship contenders will try to win both legs of a Champions League match.
Benfica vs Club Brugge
Benfica, who is unbeaten in their previous 10 home games against Belgian teams in the Champions League with eight victories and two draws, will be the opponent for Brugge, and they have a lot to prove.
Only one of the 45 teams that have gained a first-leg victory away from home in a Champions League playoff match by at least two goals has failed to advance, and that was PSG, who lost to Manchester United in 2019.
This tournament has seen Benfica win three straight games, which is their best streak since they won six straight games during the 1989–90 season.
Brugge’s four-game scoring drought in the Champions League matches is the longest in the tournament.
Joao Mario, who will try to become the first player to score in five straight matches in either the European Cup or Champions League since the great Eusebio scored seven straight goals between May 1963 and September 1964, must be closely watched.
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