Can Borussia Dortmund get their first win against Barcelona? | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund host Barcelona at the Westfalenstadion in the first-leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday night. Ranked outsiders to reach the final in Munich, last season’s runners-up must beat the Catalan side for the first time in their history.

The two teams met in the league phase in December and despite Serhou Guirassy’s brace, Barcelona ran out 3-2 winners with an 85th minute goal from Ferran Torres. That means that Dortmund are yet to beat the Catalan side in their five meetings, drawing two and losing three games.

But there is some optimism that Borussia Dortmund can beat Barcelona. Here’s why.

Borussia Dortmund are finding their rhythm under Niko Kovač

Niko Kovač replaced Nuri Sahin as Borussia Dortmund head coach in February and after a slow start, is averaging 1.67 PPG (Points Per Game). They remain unbeaten in the Champions League under the Croat with two wins (Lille and Sporting CP) and two draws. They also come into this game with successive wins against Mainz and Freiburg, two games that produced excellent performances in a new 3-4-1-2 formation with Maximilian Beier and Karim Adeyemi playing as the two strikers. Recent performances in the Bundesliga now sees die Schwarzgelben just five points adrift of the fourth Champions League spot.

The return of Serhou Guirassy

The Guinean forward sat out of Borussia Dortmund’s 3-1 win against Mainz with an adductor injury, but returned at the weekend against Freiburg. Coming off the bench to score in the club’s 4-1 win, Guirassy is Dortmund’s top scorer this season with 25 goals across all competitions. Only Barcelona’s Raphinha (11) has scored more goals that Guirassy (10) in this season’s Champions League. The 29-year-old has already scored a brace against Barcelona this season and his return can be key to victory.

Are Borussia Dortmund dark horses for the Champions League?

Many considered Borussia Dortmund to be outsiders for last season’s Champions League. Under Edin Terzic, BVB beat Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain en-route to Wembley where they would go on to lose against Real Madrid in the final. Their performances in this season’s UCL are reminiscent of last. Overcoming strong Sporting CP and Lille teams has set up a quarter-final against Barcelona.

With very little to play for, all focus is on the Champions League and with Barcelona leading Real Madrid in La Liga by four points, they are very much in a title race that could distract them from the Champions League. Robert Lewandowski is a familiar foe to Borussia Dortmund, and Emre Can, who spoke of coming up against the former Dortmund and Bayern Munich striker.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder