Dortmund will arrive in Barcelona with renewed spirits after 2 consecutive victories

Borussia Dortmund will land this week in Barcelona with the hope of at least rescuing a draw in their visit to Barça for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Niko Kovac's team comes off eliminating Lille in the round of 16 (3-2 on aggregate) and has two consecutive victories in the Bundesliga, against Mainz (3-1) and Freiburg (1-4).

After the thrashing on Saturday, which brought the 'yellow-blacks' closer to European competition spots in the Bundesliga, part of the squad expressed their excitement and confidence in having a good match in Montjuïc. The winger Karim Adeyemi assured that the team has improved a lot in attack. "We want to keep it up and continue with the same tone next week", he expressed.

Meanwhile, the midfielder Pascal Groß stated that "it will be difficult, but each of these matches is winnable". At the same time, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made it clear that the Champions is a great opportunity that they must not waste. "We can play with freedom and we will try to get the most out of the match against a very strong opponent". Much more ambitious was Borussia's sporting director, Sebastian Kehl, who anticipated that the Germans "can do a lot of damage to Barça".

Niko Kovac is clear: Dortmund will not take risks in Montjuïc

In the press conference following the victory in Freiburg, Niko Kovac revealed part of the plan that the current European runner-up hopes to execute during their visit to Catalonia. Dortmund knows very well the lethality of the Blaugrana attack, as in the league phase, they conceded 3 goals at home in what was their only defeat so far at the Signal Iduna Park in the tournament (2-3, with goals from Raphinha and a double from Ferran Torres).

"We will have to defend well. It has already been seen in Freiburg that we are capable of that. Everyone contributes their bit, everyone is willing to cover ground. Only together can we succeed," explained the 'BVB' coach. Kovac knows Hansi Flick very well, who was his assistant and replacement at Bayern Munich in the 2019-20 season.

This is how Barça has fared in Montjuïc in the Champions 2024-25

Barça, for its part, arrives at Wednesday's clash with an unbeaten streak of 22 matches in all competitions this 2025 and with a very positive home record in the Champions. The culés thrashed Young Boys (5-0), Bayern Munich (4-1), and Brest (3-0) in the league phase, where they also drew in the last match, already with their qualification for the round of 16 secured, against Atalanta (2-2).

In the round of 16, Barça once again imposed itself authoritatively against Benfica (3-1). In total, the Blaugrana's record is 4 victories and 1 draw in their 5 home matches, with 18 goals scored and only 4 conceded. In domestic competitions, only Las Palmas (1-2), Leganés (0-1), and Atlético (1-2) have managed to defeat Barça this year in Montjuïc.

1. October 1, 2024: FC Barcelona 5-0 Young Boys. Matchday 2 of the league phase.
2. October 23, 2024: FC Barcelona 4-1 Bayern Munich. Matchday 3 of the league phase.
3. November 26, 2024: FC Barcelona 3-0 Stade Brest. Matchday 5 of the league phase.
4. January 29, 2025: FC Barcelona 2-2 Atalanta. Matchday 8 of the league phase.
5. March 11, 2025: FC Barcelona 3-1 Benfica. Return leg of the round of 16.