Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund Preview

Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund will square up this Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter final.

The hosts are enjoying an incredible season and could yet complete a famous quadruple. They won the Spanish Super Cup in January and are still battling on three fronts despite Saturday’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Real Betis.

Despite the draw they remained four points ahead of the rest after Real Madrid’s defeat at the weekend and they are unbeaten in 22 games in all competitions (W18, D4). Their next target now will be to record a first-leg win in their attempt to reach a first Champions League semi-final appearance since 2018/19.

Dortmund are perhaps an ideal opponent, given that Barca boss Hansi Flick boasts a 100% winning managerial record against the Bundesliga side (W6). One of those wins came on matchday six of the league phase when Flick’s side won 3-2 in Dortmund, part of a run of eight wins from their last nine Champions League games (D1).

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund will be looking to continue what has been a good run in Europe when they travel to Spain on Wednesday.

Unlike their hosts who are battling for a league title, Dortmund are fighting to simply finish in the top half of the Bundesliga. They’re making a good case to do so having won their last two league games, including a thumping 4-1 victory away to Freiburg on Saturday.

However, this game represents an entirely different proposition, as Dortmund has never before beaten Barcelona (D2, L3). Three wins from their 20 away matches against Spanish opponents in European competition (D5, L12) hardly inspires belief that their first H2H victory is near.

They’ve already been thumped once on Spanish soil this season, too, going down 5-2 to Real Madrid in the league phase. But four of their six Champions League away games this term ended in victory (L2), so they shouldn’t be written off here.