Borussia Dortmund vs Chelsea
UEFA Champions League
Round of Sixteen
Wednesday
15th February 2023
Signal Iduna Park
Preview
Sébastien Haller seems to be the missing puzzle piece that Borussia Dortmund initially missed this season. That says technical director Sebastian Kehl through the official club channels. In the run-up to the Champions League game with Chelsea, he praised the cancer-healed striker.
“He’s a piece of the puzzle that we unfortunately had to miss for a long time,” Kehl said of Haller. The top purchase only recently made his unofficial debut, after he had dealt with his illness. ‘A fit Haller enriches our team. Not only with his football qualities, but also as a personality. We’ve been waiting for him eagerly and he’s been working towards this for a long time.’
Haller will most likely make his comeback in the Champions League against Chelsea. That is the stage on which he made great progress with Ajax last season. He scored eleven times in eight games. Also in the duels with BVB. “If you see him on the field now, we will all be happy. And the Champions League is his stage. I can still remember the games against Ajax well. Then he hurt us a lot. Hopefully he will do it for us on Wednesday now. But above all I want him to stay healthy in the long term.’
“Seb needs some time after this long rehabilitation,” Kehl also knows. But things must go crazy if Haller does not want to play against the Blues: especially because his main competitor, Youssoufa Moukoko, cannot play. The eighteen-year-old striker was injured against Werder Bremen last weekend and is expected to be sidelined for about six weeks, Dortmund has announced.
Haller now competes with Anthony Modeste for the striker position. “Everyone wants to kick off on Wednesday,” says Kehl. “So does Haller. It is a big competition, on a large stage in front of more than eighty thousand spectators. Then you will not feel pain and fatigue. I think we’re in a good position.”
Borussia Dortmund vs Chelsea: Betting odds
Draw no bet: Borussia Dortmund @ 1.80 odds.
Over 2.5 goals @ 1.98 odds.
