Borussia Dortmund bolstered by key midfielder’s return as they look for an impossible comeback against Barcelona | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are set to face Borussia Dortmund for the third time this season as they take on the German side for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final at Signal Iduna Park.

The Catalans have a 4-goal advantage from the first leg going into this match and thus are the firm favourites to make it to the semi-finals of the competition.

Still, the Germans will be looking to take their chances to mount an impossible comeback on Tuesday. In this regard, Mundo Deportivo notes that Niko Kovac will be helped significantly by the return of one of their key players, Pascal Gross, who was suspended for the first leg but will be available to play in the second leg.

Gross has 11 assists to his name this season, the same as Julian Brandt, and with Marcel Sabitzer injured, he is set to start for Dortmund tomorrow.

The German midfielder has quite a good record in the UEFA Champions League. In the 9 games he has started in the competition, his side has won 6, drawn 2, and lost only 1, the loss coming against Bologna back in January.

With him coming off the bench or not having played in a game, his side has lost three matches, two of them against Barcelona, in the League Phase and in the first leg of this tie.

Overall, the midfielder’s statistics have also been quite good. He gets on the ball 75.4 times on average per game, makes 2 key passes on average, and has created 9 big chances for his side so far and his average passing success rate is 86%. In the defence, he makes 3.2 ball recoveries, 1.6 tackles, and wins 45% of the duels he engages in.

Thus, Gross’ return would be a significant boost for Dortmund, and Barcelona will have to take some specific steps to ensure he does not deal a lot of damage in this upcoming game.