Dortmund has made an impressive start in the new Champions League format, having won four of their five matches, with their only loss coming in a 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid, the team they faced in last year’s final.
This puts them 4th in the standings, just three points behind leaders Liverpool, and with three matches left, they are well-positioned to qualify directly for the round of 16.
Recently, Dortmund secured a 3-0 victory at Dinamo Zagreb and followed that with a 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, before traveling to Mönchengladbach. Despite their strong European form, Dortmund is still finding their rhythm in the Bundesliga, where they are 5th as the first half of the season comes to a close.
Barcelona, with a record of four wins and one loss in the Champions League, shares a similar story.
After a 2-1 loss to Monaco in their opener, the Blaugrana have been dominant, defeating Young Boys Bern 5-0, Bayern Munich 4-1, Red Star Belgrade 5-2, and Brest 3-0. These victories make Barcelona the highest-scoring team in the competition with 18 goals in five games, averaging more than three goals per match.
Barcelona is currently 3rd in the group and leads La Liga, but they have hit a bit of a rough patch recently, suffering a 2-1 loss at home to Las Palmas and drawing their subsequent matches with Mallorca and Betis Sevilla.
Dortmund is hoping to welcome back forward Adeyemi, who has scored three goals in the Champions League but has been sidelined for two months due to injury. Defender Süle, who returned to action after their win in Zagreb, and midfielder Brandt, who has contributed two goals and five assists across all competitions, are also expected to play against Barcelona.
However, Dortmund will be without key defender Anton for this match. Their top scorers in the Champions League, Gittens and Guirassy, have each scored four goals.
Barcelona is dealing with several absentees, including central defender Christensen, midfielder Bernal, and starting goalkeeper ter Stegen, who has been replaced by Peña. Left-back Baldé and forward Fati are also likely to miss out.
On the positive side, central defender Araujo is expected to return after rejoining team training. Star striker Lewandowski, who has scored 22 goals in all competitions, including seven in the Champions League, recently netted his 100th Champions League goal against Brest.
Prediction
Dortmund has struggled at home recently, winning only two of their last 14 top-flight matches and losing four of their last six home games.
In contrast, Barcelona has been strong in the Champions League, winning eight of their last 13 matches. Given these factors, Barcelona is expected to come out on top in this match.
Prediction: Dortmund 1-2 Barcelona.
