Dortmund v Chelsea Champions League tips: Blues to bank draw

• Dortmund are strong at home but have a poor record against Premier League teams

• Chelsea are still fitting the pieces together but can claim a draw at 3.55/2

• Jude Bellingham and Joao Felix can combine in a goalscorer Bet Builder at 2625/1

Dortmund in hot form since resumption

Borussia Dortmund were able to do some decent business in the summer transfer window following the sales of Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji to Manchestert City for a combined £77.5m.

Ex-West Ham striker Sebastien Haller arrived from Ajax and they also forked out for German internationals Karim Adeyemi and Nico Schlotterbeck for a combined £50m.

Sitting third in the Bundesliga seems nothing better than par for the course but they're only three points behind leaders Bayern Munich and have won 13 of their 20 games.

A closer look shows that Dortmund have won seven and drawn one of their nine at home and they've emerged from the World Cup/Winter break in hot form, winning six out of six when adding in a German Cup victory at Bochum.

Haller, worryingly, was diagnosed with testicular cancer shortly after signing but returned to action last month and netted the first goal of his comeback in a 5-1 home win over Freiburg.

While he underwent treatment, Haller missed all of the group phase where Dortmund finished second to Manchester City in their Group G table with nine points.

At home they drew with both City (0-0) and Sevilla (1-1) before beating FC Copenhagen 3-0 to secure qualification with a record of two wins, three draws and one defeat (F10, A5).

Potter hoping to put pieces together

Chelsea have stuttered badly in the Premier League either side of the World Cup, yet another draw at the weekend - this one against West Ham - keeping them stuck in ninth place and 10 points behind fourth-placed Newcastle.

But before focus switched to Qatar, Graham Potter (in his black poloneck) and Chelsea were looking the part in Europe.

Potter came in for the final five games of Chelsea's six-match group phase and guided them to four wins and a draw. That included victories in both his away games: 2-1 at RB Salzburg and 2-0 at AC Milan.

Since then, Chelsea have outspent every club in the world in the January transfer window, splurging over £300m on a raft of new signings to add to the large and expensive intake from the summer.

The sheer weight of numbers meant Potter couldn't even find room for striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and £35m France defender Benoit Badiashile in his Champions League squad.

A nice problem to have or a real headache? This is a million miles from Potter was used to at Brighton and, for now it seems, the big, shiny, exciting jigsaw this project could become remains a confusing puzzle to be solved.

Dortmund favourites but Blues can hold firm

Perhaps it's not immediately obvious how this would be priced up given Dortmund's strong form and Chelsea's lack of recent wins.

But with home advantage, it's Dortmund who are clear favourites at 2.526/4 to establish a first-leg lead ahead of the return at Stamford Bridge on March 7th.

Chelsea are 3.1511/5 to win the game while The Draw is the outsider at 3.55/2.

One obvious viewpoint is that, quite simply, the Premier League is far stronger than the Bundesliga. That comes through in the stat that Dortmund are winless in their last 10 games against English teams in European competition. That comprises eight defeats and two draws.

And yet, Chelsea have a fairly modest record in Germany. Last 11 ties there: three wins, five defeats and three losses.

Widening the picture, Dortmund are strong at home in Europe, racking up 10 wins and seven draws in their last 21 Champions League games in front of the "Yellow Wall" at the Westfalenstadion.

As for direct head-to-head form, we don't have any. This is the first time the two have ever met in European competition.

I think Chelsea are the bet to reach the quarter-finals - they're 1.695/7 to qualify - but will do so by coming on strong in the second leg when their star signings are more integrated.

For now, it's The Draw that appeals at 3.55/2 on Wednesday night. Dortmund deserve respect and held Manchester City 0-0 at home; Chelsea have conceded just once in their last four games but have had been held in three of those.

Bellingham can be part of bumper Bet Builder

Jude Bellingham has only netted once in five games since turning heads at the World Cup but he was in rich goalscoring form in the Champions League before Qatar.

The England midfielder registered in four of the the five group stage games he played, his only blank coming at home to Man City. On those numbers he's certainly worth a look to score anytime at 11/2.

For Chelsea, Joao Felix seems to have settled in straight away despite the disruption of a three-game ban for a red card against Fulham.

Against West Ham at the weekend, he had one goal ruled out and then opened the scoring. Without doubt he'll get plenty of chance to go forward here with Kai Havertz a roaming rather than static striker.

Add in Felix's goals for Atletico Madrid and the on-loan Portuguese has scored six times in his last seven domestic matches.

A Bet Builder goalscorer double on Bellingham and Felix pays around 2625/1.

Opta stat

Graham Potter could become just the second English manager to win away from home against German opposition in the UEFA Champions League, with Sir Bobby Robson the only previous manager to do so (on two occasions).

The last of those was a 3-1 victory at Bayer 04 Leverkusen in February 2003, on what was Robson's 70th birthday.