Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund LIVE: Reece James returns as Blues boss Graham Potter faces defining night at Stamford Bridge with his team looking to overturn Champions League deficit
Follow Sportsmail’s live blog for the Champions League round of 16 second-leg clash between Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund.
Host commentator
We have a couple of reporters at the ground this evening, including Oliver Holt.
Tension is building around Stamford Bridge ahead of kick-off.
There’s nothing quite like a Champions League night.
Chelsea-Borussia Dortmund programme front cover pic.twitter.com/RO7LgfJsEp
A long look around Stamford Bridge for Bellingham this evening.
I can’t give a build-up without mentioning him. What a talent.
Jude Bellingham took a longer than usual look around Stamford Bridge ahead of tonight's Champions League tie 🤔 pic.twitter.com/l8AtOhNPGp
Dortmund arrived late to the ground and manager Edin Terzic wanted kick-off delayed.
He’s now got that. We’ll get underway at 8:10pm.
BREAKING: Kick-off is delayed until 8:10pm
Some pictures for you from the warm-ups.
It is COLD in London.
Terzic has just said on BT that Dortmund faced a delay getting to the ground.
They went out to warm up about 10 minutes ago. He said he’s unsure if they will kick-off on time. We’re sure they will.
‘We won’t let that stop us tonight’, his final line.
There’s another game on in the Champions League tonight with an impressive Benfica side hosting Scott Parker’s Club Brugge.
The Portuguese side lead 2-0 after the first leg and will more than fancy their chances of seeing it through at home.
Will keep you updated on that one throughout the evening.
Former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has been having his say on BT.
‘A huge night for the club’, he said. ‘You could sense the tension at the weekend, getting over the line was just relief, as the days have gone past since Saturday the fans have got a bit more positive.
‘That last 20 minutes Leeds start to get a few chances and the tension builds. Chelsea need a strong start tonight.’
There’s been a lot of speculation around Mason Mount and what his future holds.
Newcastle have reportedly entered the race for the midfielder if he’s to leave the club in the summer.
He’s out tonight with an abdomen isse.
Graham Potter and the gang have arrived at Stamford Bridge wil kick-off now less than an hour away.
I wonder how players feel on nights like these.
One change for Dortmund from their win over Leipzig at the weekend with Guerreiro in for Ryerson at left-back.
From the first leg, Reus starts in place of the injured Adeyemi and Meyer is in goal with Kobel not fit enough to start.
Two changes from Graham Potter for the game today.
Cucurella replaces Badiashile at left-sided centre-back, with Reece James fit enough to come back in at right-wing-back.
Silva, Mudryk and Ziyech drop out from the first leg in Germany.
Meyer, Wolf, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro, Can, Brandt, Bellingham, Ozcan, Reus, Haller.
Subs: Kobel, Reyna, Dahoud, Hummels, Modeste, Malen, Meunier, Passlack, Rothe, Unbehaun, Bynoe-Gittens, Coulibaly.
🚨 BVB STARTING XI VS. CHELSEA 🚨 pic.twitter.com/z9TElmuO5Q
Kepa, Fofana, Koulibaly, Cucurella, James, Fernandez, Kovacic, Chilwell, Sterling, Havertz, Felix.
Subs: Bettinelli, Bergstrom, Chalobah, Hall, Chukwuemeka, Gallagher, Loftus-Cheek, Mudryk, Pulisic, Zakaria, Ziyech.
Your Chelsea side tonight! 🔵#UCL pic.twitter.com/n1zekhgzvN
Dortmund trained at Chelsea’s stadium on Monday in preparation for the match.
However, today, they were snapped having a pre-game warm-up on a bobbly surface at the Artillery Ground in Islington.
Just five minutes from Moorgate and Old Street stations, the private venue belongs to the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) – which is associated with the oldest regiment in the British Army.
Read more below.
Karim Adeyemi scored a truly fantastic goal in the first leg. His pace was such an issue for Chelsea and he proved to be the difference in what was a pretty tight game.
It’s highly unlikely he’ll be in action at Stamford Bridge tonight, though.
He tore a muscle fibre against Hertha Berlin in February and was ruled out for ‘around three weeks’.
Chelsea, in the most innocent way possible, will hope he doesn’t make it.
Dortmund are flying. No two ways about it.
They’ve won their last 11 games in all competitions, most recently a 2-1 win over RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.
Edin Terzic – who is good friends with Potter – and his side are second in the Bundesliga on only goal difference to Bayern Munich.
What a special season this could be for them.
Chelsea are currently 10th in the Premier League and 11 points off the top four, which seems a distant dream.
They won 1-0 against Leeds at the weekend, but that was their first victory in eight games.
It was just their second goal in that time too, with the side facing serious problems in front of goal.
Potter has a long way to go to repair his relationship with Chelsea fans. But a win here would be a good start.
Graham Potter is under insane pressure at Chelsea. Performances have been below par, results have been worse, and many fans want him gone.
Owner Todd Boehly has pledged to keep the faith but the faith can only hold for so long.
If Chelsea go out tonight, the atmosphere won’t be a pleasant one at Stamford Bridge.
This is the second leg of the last 16 tie, coming from Stamford Bridge.
Dortmund lead 1-0 after a narrow victory in Germany three weeks ago, with Chelsea missing a series of chances – the story of their season.
Karim Adeyemi scored a second-half solo goal as he ran from his own half to net, and that proved to be the difference.
Graham Potter’s side are still in the tie, but it won’t be easy.
Good evening one and all and welcome to Sportmail’s live coverage of Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. It’s crunch time.
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