Chelsea failed to win in the Premier League yet again under Graham Potter last weekend, with the 1-1 draw against West Ham United at the weekend marking the club’s third consecutive stalemate.
It isn’t getting any easier for the Blues either, with a Champions League tie against German giants Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night sure to be a tough encounter, and it will give the Englishman an indication of just where his team sits amongst the continent’s elite.
Will Chelsea defeat Borussia Dortmund?
Yes
No
The atmosphere at Signa Iduna Park will surely be as boisterous as ever, and the Bundesliga side are on a five-match winning streak and will be aiming to make that six against Chelsea.
It might not be all bad news for Potter, though, as he will be able to unleash forward Joao Felix. UEFA have relaxed their rules regarding players featuring for two different clubs in the tournament in the same season, which will be a huge bonus for the Blues, especially considering his performance against West Ham.
Will Joao Felix start against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League?
Having served a suspension after being sent off on his debut last month, Felix returned to the starting line-up against West Ham and put in a wonderful performance, despite Chelsea failing to win.
He played the full 90 minutes and scored his first goal for the club, along with making two key passes and took 66 touches and three shots, ending the match with a Sofascore rating of 7.7/10 for his display.
Not content with merely impressing going forward, Felix also chipped in defensively by making three tackles and winning eight ground duels. If Potter can keep the Portuguese ace in this form for the rest of the season, Chelsea’s results might soon improve.
A tie against Dortmund seems a daunting one, although the 23-year-old has previous experience in the Champions League, scoring ten goals in 36 appearances in the competition during his spells at Benfica and Atletico Madrid.
The £247k-per-week gem was described as a “special talent” by reporter James Dodd a couple of years ago, and although he hasn’t quite lived up to the massive hype which was generated following his £113m move to the Spanish capital in 2019, impressing at Chelsea could go a long way to re-establishing him as one of the finest talents on the continent.
If Potter wants to secure any kind of positive result against Dortmund, he simply must unleash Felix tomorrow night, as the 23-year-old could terrorise the home side should he replicate his performance from the weekend.
