The second set of Champions League last-16 fixtures to take place this week is full of intrigue, with the continent's biggest-spending club of the January transfer window in need of a result.
Graham Potter's Chelsea forked out an estimated £291million to reshape their squad last month, but the misfiring Blues have won just one of their eight games this calendar year.
For all his struggles on the domestic front, Potter has yet to suffer a Champions League defeat with Chelsea, and maintaining that record at Borussia Dortmund would give them an excellent chance of reaching the last eight.
Potter is not the only under-fire English boss to take centre stage on Wednesday, with former Fulham and Bournemouth head coach Scott Parker overseeing Club Brugge's clash with Benfica.
With just one win in nine games since the World Cup, Brugge will be considered outsiders against the Lisbon giants, who were outstanding as they finished above Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus in Group H.
Stats Perform has taken a look at the key Opta numbers ahead of Wednesday's first-leg match-ups.
Borussia Dortmund v Chelsea
Somewhat surprisingly given their statuses as European regulars, Dortmund and Chelsea will do battle for the first time in continental competition on Wednesday.
The omens are not particularly good for either side, as a BVB team without a win in their last 10 European meetings with English opponents (D2 L8) face a Chelsea side with just three victories in 11 previous away games in Germany (D3 L5).
Dortmund's last win over Premier League opponents came against Tottenham in the Europa League in 2016, with current Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netting twice in a 2-1 triumph.
Aubameyang will not be welcomed back by the yellow wall on Wednesday, however, having been left out of Chelsea's Champions League squad following their huge spending spree.
Instead, Germany international Kai Havertz may lead the line as he bids for a first career goal against BVB – his seven appearances without netting against Dortmund are more than he has managed against any other club.
Dortmund, meanwhile, could hand Sebastien Haller his first Champions League appearance for the club following his recovery from testicular cancer. The former Ajax man has more goals in his first eight games in the competition (11) than any other player.
Additionally, Haller has averaged a goal every 61 minutes of Champions League football, the best ratio in the competition's history (minimum 250 minutes played).
Should Chelsea keep Haller quiet en route to victory, Potter would become the first English manager to win five consecutive Champions League matches, with a 1-1 draw against Salzburg in his first game at the helm the only blot on his European record with the Blues.
Club Brugge v Benfica
Two of the group stage's surprise packages meet in Belgium, with Brugge having escaped Group B at the expense of Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid, while Benfica bested PSG and Juventus.
Brugge boss Parker has struggled since replacing Carl Hoefkens, but he will join an exclusive club on Wednesday as just the third English coach to lead a non-English team in the Champions League, after Bobby Robson (Porto and PSV) and Gary Neville (Valencia).
In Parker and Potter, meanwhile, two different English managers will coach in the same Champions League campaign for the first time in the competition's history.
Benfica are sure to make things difficult for Parker's team. The Portuguese giants are unbeaten in their last seven Champions League games (W4 D3) and are chasing three consecutive wins in the competition for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign.
In the group stage, Benfica generated more shots (14) and scored more goals (five) following high turnovers (open-play sequences starting within 40 metres of the opponent's goal) than any other team, showing their devastating counter-attacking abilities.
Benfica also have the highest conversion rate of any team, netting with 20 per cent of their shots in the Champions League this term (16/80).
Home goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, then, could be in for a busy outing. Fortunately for Brugge, he has prevented more goals than any other goalkeeper in the Champions League this season (6.3) – being beaten four times from 10.3 expected goals on target faced.
Sessegnon rejoins boyhood club Fulham after Tottenham departure
Ryan Sessegnon has resigned for Fulham on a free transfer, five years after leaving the club.
The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Cottagers with the option to extend for a further year following his departure from Tottenham last month.
In his first spell at the club, Sessegnon worked his way through the academy over 11 years, scoring 25 goals in 120 first-team appearances.
He then moved to Spurs in a £25million deal in 2019, though struggled to nail down a place in North London, making just 57 appearances in all competitions, and scoring three goals.
"It's amazing to be back. Emotional, as well," he told FFCtv. "It's where it started for me, where everything began, and it's amazing to be back.
"It will always be home for me. I think it had the feeling that it was meant to be, coming back here, so I'm delighted to get it done."
Sessegnon is Fulham's first signing of the transfer window, though they have seen plenty of first-team departures already, with Joao Palhinha, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova-Reid all leaving the club.
Bologna chief reveals Hummels approach as Calafiori nears Arsenal move
Bologna chief executive Claudio Fenucci has revealed the club have offered Mats Hummels a contract as they seek to replace Arsenal-bound centre-back Riccardo Calafiori.
Bologna finished fifth in Serie A last season, qualifying for the Champions League as a result of Italian clubs' impressive performances across UEFA's competitions.
There has been plenty of upheaval for the Rossoblu since then, however, with coach Thiago Motta leaving for Juventus and former Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano taking his place.
Calafiori, meanwhile, is set for a medical with Arsenal after helping Bologna keep 17 clean sheets in Serie A last term, a tally only bettered by Inter (21) and Torino (18).
With the Italy international on his way out, Bologna have turned to a player with vast Champions League experience in their bid to replace him.
Speaking at the unveiling of recently-signed forward Thjis Dallinga on Friday, Fenucci revealed Bologna are working on a deal to sign Hummels, who left Borussia Dortmund on a free after their Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid last month.
"The departure of Calafiori forces us to look for a new central defender," he explained.
"Why does Hummels take some time? It's very normal, we spoke to him recently. It is right that he thinks about it, to arrive with the right motivations.
"We don't have to talk here about our conversations with Hummels, but we explained the project and the city to him.
"Many players have finished their careers here, the city has this attraction, it seems.
"There is no deadline, but if there are no conditions we have to look at other players as well."
Hummels excelled as Dortmund reached their third Champions League final last term, leading all players in the competition for tackles won (29), interceptions (25) and total recoveries (81).
Only eight players in the tournament, meanwhile, played more passes than his 676 throughout BVB's run to the Wembley Stadium showpiece.
Lindstrom joins Everton on loan from Napoli
Everton have completed the loan signing of Jesper Lindstrom from Napoli, the club confirmed on Friday.
Lindstrom will join the Toffees for the 2024-25 season with the deal including an option to make the move permanent at the end of the campaign.
The 24-year-old becomes the fourth addition at Goodison Park following the arrivals of Tim Iroegbunam, Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Harrison.
Lindstrom arrives after a difficult season with Napoli, playing just 416 minutes in 22 league appearances for the Serie A side.
The Denmark international arrived in Naples from Eintracht Frankfurt where he scored 14 goals in 80 appearances, helping the German side lift the Europa League in the 2021-22 season.
“I feel very good. It’s amazing to represent Everton," Lindstrom said in his first interview with the club.
"This is a big club, with big history, a good stadium and, as I’ve seen, very good facilities as well. I’m very, very happy to be here and I feel like this is a good fit.
“I actually heard of Everton’s interest a while ago – not only from now but previously. England is very similar to Denmark so I will feel at home quickly.
“I’ve spoken to the manager. It sounds as though he likes the way I play football and I can be a good fit for the team with my speed, so now I want to deliver."
The search for another attacking option out wide had been the priority at Everton, having seen Arnaut Danjuma return to Villarreal following the completion of his loan deal, and the sale of Lewis Dobbin to Aston Villa.
Everton managed 40 goals last season, the second worst in the Premier League ahead of Sheffield United (35), and Dyche believes Lindstrom has a lot to offer in the final third.
"Jesper is a player with very good ability who can operate in a number of different attacking roles, which will benefit us heading into the new season," said Dyche.
"He joins us with a range of different experiences. He is hungry and eager to succeed with us, and that's a strong starting point as we look to add more productivity to our attack."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
