Chelsea vs Borussia Dortmund
The Premier League meets the Bundesliga on Thursday when Chelsea finish off their American tour with a clash against Borussia Dortmund at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The Windy City welcomes the Blues as inaugural winners of the Premier League Summer Series after they beat Fulham to top the six team mini-league. Meanwhile Borussia Dortmund come into the match with a 100 per cent pre-season record and they have been scoring for fun.
The Bundesliga giants come into the game on the back of a 3-2 win over Manchester United and now they are looking for another Premier League scalp.
Talking Points
Nkunku scores again
A victory over Brighton and a draw with Newcastle United meant that Chelsea’s match with Fulham was an early chance for Mauricio Pochettino to pick up some silverware; and his team delivered. Against a depleted Fulham, without Joao Palhinha and losing captain Tom Cairney early in the game, Chelsea coasted to a two goals win. The evergreen Thiago Silva gave the Blues a lead with a perfectly placed header and then summer signing Christopher Nkunku tapped in the second for his third goal since arriving at Stamford Bridge.
Ex Bundesliga stars Timo Werner and Kai Havertz both arrived at Chelsea with high hopes but struggled to deliver, and Nkunku is determined to make his mark early…and it’s so far so good. During the match with the Cottagers Pochettino urged his team to play short, quick passes rather going long and he will play a possession game in the coming campaign.
Wingbacks Reece James and Ben Chilwell, who crossed for Thiago’s goal, were badly missed for much of last season but they are both fit and firing and they will provide a good supply of ammunition, while the left sided Ian Maatsen, who spent last season on loan at Burnley, has also impressed in pre-season. World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez looks set to play a pivotal role in midfield and there has been a return to favour of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga after Edouard Mendy’s move to Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League.
Goals flooding in for BVB
My SBOTOP colleague James reckons Borussia Dortmund could struggle next season and the pre-season Bundesliga 2023 betting odds reckon he has a point, pricing Die Schwarzgelben at around 6.00 to win the 2023/24 title. They were heavily odds on to win the league on the final game of last season and BVB fans will not want to be reminded of that.
The pre-season has gone as well as expected for Edin Terzic’s men with five wins and 21 goals. On Friday Die Schwarzgelben thrashed San Diego Loyal 6-0 and then, on Sunday they followed that up by beating Manchester United in a five goal thriller. Striker Donyell Malen scored twice in two minutes to give BVB a half time lead and Youssoufa Moukoko rounded off an impressive move, late in the second half, to win the game.
With Sebastien Haller fully fit and Marco Reus still scoring Die Schwarzgelben will have plenty of firepower in the coming season but Terzic is keen to strengthen in defence. He has three senior centre backs at the club in Niklas Sule, Mats Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck. Sule will be one of the first names on the team-sheet but with Hummels now 34 years of age and Schlotterbeck leaving BVB’s summer tour after picking up a knee injury during the match against San Diego there is not much depth in that area. The fourth choice is 19 year old Soumaila Coulibaly but he looks set to leave the club this summer and came very close to joining Premier League side Burnley.
So Terzic is down to Sule and Hummels and he needs reinforcements.
History
Chelsea are six times Premier League winners and twice European Champions, the last occasion in 2021, while Borussia Dortmund have won the Bundesliga eight times and they won the European Champions League in 1997.
The two teams met in last season’s Champions League Round of 16. Karim Adeyemi scored in Dortmund to give the Germans a first leg lead; but Chelsea won the return 2-0 as goals from Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz overturned the deficit.
Prediction
We’ll be back with some more Premier League 2023 updates soon and we’re keeping a close eye on the Bundesliga too as the 2023/24 campaigns inch ever nearer.
So how close are these two giants of European football to being ready?
Well, their pre-seasons have gone well. Of course, when the league action starts their summer exploits will be forgotten but it’s always better to be winning at this stage. Chelsea are already looking more positive under Poch while BVB are scoring for fun. The Germans do have problems at the back though and I expect Chelsea to expose those, while the Blues back line will come under fire.
I predict both teams to score in an entertaining bout.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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