Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund: Preview, predictions and lineups

Barcelona host last year’s Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Wednesday evening.

Sitting pretty at the top of La Liga with the Copa del Rey final to come at the end of April, La Blaugrana are still on course for the treble this season. Their greatest challenges will come in Europe, however, starting with Dortmund across two legs and continuing with either Bayern Munich or Inter should they reach the last eight.

Barca will be eager to have an aggregate buffer ahead of the second leg at the raucous Signal Iduna Park next week and will be strong favourites to secure that cushion against the inconsistent Germans.

Dortmund have improved since Niko Kovac replaced Nuri Sahin in the dugout but performances and results have still been unpredictable. Bundesliga defeats to Bochum and Augsburg over the past six weeks have epitomised their struggles across the season, with the Champions League having proven refreshing respite amid a frustrating domestic campaign.

Here is 90min’s guide to the clash.

Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund head-to-head record (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

Barca welcomed Andreas Christensen back into the matchday squad for the first time since late January during the weekend draw with Real Betis, but Hansi Flick is still without long-term absentees Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Marc Bernal and Marc Casado.

Dani Olmo is a significant absentee in the final third having suffered a muscle injury at the end of March and will be replaced by Gavi in the starting lineup, the youngster scoring against Betis at the weekend.

Ferran Torres may be the only player to drop out of the side that were held in La Liga on Saturday night, with Raphinha replacing him on the left-hand side.

Barcelona predicted lineup vs Dortmund (4-2-3-1): Szczesny; Kounde, Araujo, Cubarsi, Balde; Pedri, De Jong; Yamal, Gavi, Raphinha; Lewandowski.

Nico Schlotterbeck has recently added his name to the Dortmund injury list after it was confirmed he would miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury. Fellow defenders Niklas Sule and Ramy Bensebaini are both doubts for Wednesday, too.

Kovac also has conundrums in midfield with Pascal Gross suspended and Marcel Sabitzer in the treatment room. Daniel Svensson featured in the engine room at the weekend, while Salih Ozcan and Felix Nmecha are other candidates.

Youngster Cole Campbell is Dortmund’s only injury concern in the final third.

Dortmund predicted lineup vs Barcelona (4-2-3-1): Kobel; Ryerson, Anton, Can, Svensson; Nmecha, Ozcan; Adeyemi, Brandt, Beier; Guirassy.

Barca came out victorious in an end-to-end thriller between the sides during the league phase in December and will expect to be triumphant midweek, too. The Catalans will want to boast at least a two-goal advantage ahead of the second leg.

Dortmund have defensive injuries and have been suspect at the back all season, something Barca are likely to exploit on Wednesday. Their attacking muscle should fire them to a comfortable victory, although their visitors will pose plenty of threat on the break.

Prediction: Barcelona 3-1 Borussia Dortmund

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