The Champions League returns today with Chelsea welcoming an in-form Borussia Dortmund who will aim to continue their perfect run of results in 2023 against a Blues side struggling for form.
Dortmund have won all 10 of their competitive fixtures so far this year and remain the only side in the top European leagues to have a 100 per cent record.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have won just two of their last 10 competitive fixtures, their most recent victory coming in a 1-0 defeat of Leeds United.
Tuesday’s action kicks off first in Lisbon, with Benfica facing Scott Parker’s Club Brugge in the second leg of the round of 16 tie.
The action continues on Wednesday with Bayern Munich and PSG meeting at the Allianz Arena the Bundesliga side won the first leg 1-0. Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur host Serie A champions AC Milan at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Here are all the details you need for each of the ties:
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Kick-off: 8pm
TV: You can watch the game on BT Sport 2.
Stream: You can stream the match live on BT Sport’s website or app
Benfica: Roger Schmidt’s side take a 2-0 advantage from the first leg into this tie against Club Brugge. Goals from Joao Mario and David Neres helped the Primeira Liga leaders to that result and they remain in a comfortable position to qualify from the round of 16.
They remain unbeaten since the qualifying rounds against FC Midtjylland and will be favourites in this one. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that they have lost just two competitive fixtures all season. Striker Goncalo Ramos will be one to keep an eye on.
Club Brugge: The Belgian giants have been on a poor run of form since former Fulham and Bournemouth boss Parker took over at the start of 2023. The Englishman has managed just two wins in his eleven competitive fixtures so far, with their most recent defeat being a 3-0 loss to Oostende, who are fighting against relegation in the Belgian Pro League.
Brugge’s Champions League campaign got off to a dream start, winning three out of three including a 2-0 win against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid. Form and momentum has taken a turn for the worse since then and they are very much the underdogs in this tie.
Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund
Kick-off: 8pm
TV: You can watch the game on BT Sport 1 or BT Sport Ultimate.
Stream: You can stream the match live on BT Sport’s website or app
Chelsea: Potter and Chelsea earned some temporary relief after their recent 1-0 victory over Leeds United, ending a run of six games without a win. The Blues lost the reverse leg 1-0 at the Signal Iduna Park, a solitary goal from Karim Adeyemi enough to down the two-time Champions League winners.
They have shown some promise of late despite poor results so far under Potter and will need their forwards to be at their sharpest against a stern Dortmund side in red-hot form.
Borussia Dortmund: Terzic and Dortmund can simply do no wrong, so far at least. The German side remain on the heels of Bundesliga champions Bayern in the league and take great confidence and momentum into their second leg encounter against Chelsea.
They will miss the pace of Adeyemi as the German youngster is sidelined through injury, but others including Jude Bellingham, Julian Brandt as well as Marco Reus are in excellent form. A deep run in the Champions League will certainly help their prospects of keeping the highly wanted Bellingham who is on the transfer wishlist of several top European clubs this summer.
Bayern Munich vs PSG
Kick-off: 8pm
TV: You can watch the game on BT Sport 2.
Stream: You can stream the game on BT Sport’s website or app
Bayern Munich: For all the furore about a potential title race in the Bundesliga this season, Julian Nageslmann’s Bayern have handled things relatively well on the pitch. The Bavarian giants are currently level on points with Dortmund in second place.
They comprehensively defeated surprised title rivals Union Berlin 3-0 at home and have remained unbeaten at the Allianz Arena this season. January arrival Yann Sommer has settled in well between the sticks, filling in for Manuel Neuer, who fractured his leg while on a skiing trip and remains sidelined for the rest of the campaign.
A goal from former PSG player Kingsley Coman was enough to win at the Parc des Princes but with Kylian Mbappe back in form and clicking well with Lionel Messi in Neymar’s absence, this tie is anything but done.
Paris Saint-Germain: PSG are likely to be without Neymar for the rest of the season with the Brazilian star set to undergo surgery on his ankle. His absence has not been felt as much on the pitch, however.
The French giants have scored 11 goals in the past three games with Mbappe scoring five of them. Messi has been active as well, scoring three and setting up two in that run as the duo seem to have struck up a productive partnership without Neymar.
Manager Christophe Galtier could see Neymar’s injury as a blessing in disguise, allowing his team to be more proactive on and off the ball without the Brazilian. No doubt Mbappe will be raring to test his luck against the likes of Dayot Upamecano and Matthijs De Ligt.
Tottenham vs Milan
Kick-off: 8pm
TV: You can watch the game on BT Sport 1 or BT Sport Ultimate.
Stream: You can stream the game on the BT Sport website or app
Tottenham: Tottenham’s form this season is best descibed as violently fluctuating. A shocking exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Sheffield United was followed up with another poor display, losing away against Wolves at Molineux.
With Antonio Conte still away from the club recovering from surgery, assistant Cristian Stellini has overseen a mixed bag of results that have thrown further doubt onto the club’s potential under Conte’s management. A 1-0 loss to Milan at the San Siro was another disappointing display in a cup competition for the club, however, recent home form offers some cause for optimism.
Spurs have won their last three games at home and will hope that the Spurs faithful push them to victory against the Rossoneri.
Milan: Stefano Pioli’s defence of the title as Milan boss has not gone according to plan. The club currently sit fifth in Serie A, 18 points away from league leaders Napoli who are the clear favorites this season.
After winning just one competitive fixture out of seven in January, Milan recovered to claim four victories out of five in February. Their good run of results was scuppered by Fiorentina, however, who beat Pioli’s side 2-1 at home.
The last time Milan played against an English club was in the group stages against Chelsea, losing 3-0 at Stamford Bridge. Star player Rafael Leao has been key to positive results for them and he is likely to be involved against Spurs.
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