Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona predictions: Barca to get the better of BVB
- Barcelona are looking to make it five Champions League wins on the spin
- Barca have scored 37 goals across their 13 away games this term
- Recommended bet: Barcelona to win
Both Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona have taken to the new Champions League’s new league phase format exceptionally well, each picking up 12 points from their opening five matches and looking all but assured of a place in the knockout stage.
However, one of those sides, BVB, has had a far kinder opening schedule and the scoring power of Hansi Flick’s Barca could prove too much for their hosts to handle on Wednesday.
Team news
The hosts will be without their regular centre-back pairing as Niklas Sule joined Waldemar Anton on the sidelines over the weekend.
Forward Maximilian Beier is also out, while Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt will need to be assessed.
Long-term absentees Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen, Marc Bernal and Ansu Fati remain sidelined for Barcelona.
There is positive news, though, as Ronald Araujo should be available for the first time in five months.
The stats
Barca have won their last four Champions League matches, thrashing Bayern Munich 4-1 during that sequence, with the Spanish giants racking up an aggregate score of 17-3 in that run.
Borussia Dortmund have also won four of their five Champions League games, while both teams have scored in six of BVB’s last eight home matches.
Former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski has scored seven goals in his last four Champions League appearances for Barcelona.
Jamie Gittens has been BVB’s star recently, scoring in three of his side’s last four games.
Prediction
Saturday’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Real Betis has left the door open for Real Madrid to leapfrog Barca at the LaLiga summit, but there have been no such slip-ups in the Champions League of late, with Flick’s side winning their last four European games by an aggregate score of 17-3.
That run includes a 4-1 thrashing of Bayern and Borussia Dortmund’s results pale in comparison to those of their visitors, with Nuri Sahin’s men beating Club Brugge, Celtic, Sturm Graz and Dinamo Zagreb en route to 12 points.
BVB threw away a two-goal lead to be thrashed 5-2 by Real - a side beaten 4-0 by Barca in October - in their only European match against top-class opposition, suggesting they may struggle on Wednesday.
The scoring power of Barca, who have netted 37 goals in 13 away games this season, may prove all too much for Dortmund to handle, especially as the hosts will be without their first-choice centre-backs, Sule and Anton.
Former BVB hero Robert Lewandowski has scored seven goals in his last four European games and he, along with the fantastic wing pairing of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, should lead Barca to victory in Germany.
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