Overview
After sacking coach Nuri Sahin, Dortmund has yet to regain their form under Niko Kovac. However, Dortmund still reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League despite unstable results. They have also had 2 consecutive victories in the Bundesliga to keep their hopes of competing for a ticket to the European Cup next season.
However, Barcelona will be a very different opponent compared to Mainz or Freiburg before. Coach Hansi Flick's team is considered a strong candidate for the Champions League championship this year. Not to mention, Dortmund also have to distribute their strength reasonably, because they will visit Bayern Munich this weekend.
As for Barcelona, they also just had a disappointing match when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Betis. However, this result has not caused Barcelona to lose their unbeaten streak of 22 matches. The last time the Catalan team had to accept defeat was at the end of December last year.
Barcelona has an impressive attack with the presence of Raphinha, Yamal and Lewandowski. This will be a big challenge for Dortmund's patchwork defense, as they have continuously had to pull Emre Can back to play as a center back in recent matches.
In addition, Dortmund also lost both midfield pillars, Pascal Grob (suspended) and Marcel Sabitzer (injured) on the trip to Spain.
With the above comments, Barcelona is expected to have a big win in this match, thereby creating an advantage in the return match taking place 1 week later.
The two teams have met in the Champions League this season with Barcelona winning 3-2.
Personnel situation
After starting the 1-1 draw with Real Betis on the bench, Barcelona key player Raphinha will almost certainly be brought back to the starting lineup.
On the other side of the front line, Dortmund will not be able to have the service of Marcel Sabitzer. In addition, they will have the strongest squad in this match.
Expected lineup:
Barcelona: Szczesny, Kounde, Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, Balde, De Jong, Pedri, Yamal, Ferran Torres, Raphinha, Lewandowski.
Dortmund: Kobel, Ryerson, Anton, Schlotterbeck, Svensson, Can, Ozcan, Brandt, Adeyemi, Guirassy, Beier.
The match between Barcelona and Dortmund takes place at 2:00 am on April 10 (Vietnam time).
