Champions League: Barcelona Is a Mountain for BVB to Climb

Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund embark on the toughest tie of the Champions League quarter-finals when they visit Barcelona on Wednesday, for a tasty first leg against the most fancied team in the competition.

The latest Champions League 2025 betting odds make Hansi Flick’s Barcelona the tournament favourites at a SBOTOP price of 3.43 while Niko Kovac’s BVB are the rank outsiders at 41.00. And at odds of 1.35 to win this first leg the Catalans are strong favourites to take a firm grip of the tie on Wednesday. But, under Kovac the Germans are showing signs of improvement in their domestic league and they come into this match on a high, while the Blaugrana are harbouring a touch of frustration. 

The Catalans were held at home by Real Betis on Saturday but they still remain in charge of the La Liga title race, four points clear of Real Madrid in second. Meanwhile Borussia Dortmund climbed up to eighth place in the Bundesliga table with a thumping 4-1 win away to seventh-placed Freiburg. 

 

Talking Points

Route to the quarter-final

Flick’s Barcelona have made it to the quarter-finals in impressive form with a superb set of Champions League 2025 results and they finished second of 36 in the league table, behind only Liverpool who are already out of the competition. Flick’s men won 19 points from eight games with six wins, one draw and one loss, beating Borussia Dortmund 3-2 along the way. They have scored a whopping 32 goals, conceding 13, beating Benfica 4-1 in the Round of 16 to reach the final eight. 

While they have endured a frustrating time in the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League campaign hasn’t been too shabby either, as they finished in tenth place, just outside the automatic qualification spots, with 15 points, scoring 22 goals and conceding 12. And overall in the tournament BVB have won seven from ten games, comfortably seeing off Sporting Lisbon in their two leg play-off before beating French side Lille, 3-2 on aggregate, in the Round of 16.         

 

Players to watch

The Blaugrana have a lethal attack with Brazil striker Raphinha netting 11 Champions League goals already while former Bundesliga hitman Robert Lewandowski has nine. And Borussia Dortmund will be wary of their ex star, who has made a habit of scoring against them since he left for Bayern Munich in 2014, bagging an incredible 27 goals in 27 meetings.

But the player hitting the headlines this week is 17-year-old wing sensation Lamine Yamal, who has made three assists to add to his three goals in the competition. Reports in Spain suggest that Manchester City are preparing an eye-watering 275m Euros bid for the La Roja star which would smash all records. 

At the other end of the pitch keeper Wojciech Szczesny is yet to lose a game for Barcelona in 20 outings in all competitions and the 34 year old Pole will take some beating.     

With ten goals and five assists Serhou Guirassy is Dortmund’s lethal weapon and he scored twice against the Blaugrana when they met at the league stage, and he will be alongside the quicksilver Karim Adeyemi who has said he is convinced the underdogs can come away from Barcelona with a good result.

Another player to keep an eye on is former Brighton midfielder Pascal Gross, who has impressed with his calm displays in the middle of the park but is also a goal threat.    

 

History

Dortmund are yet to beat Barcelona in competition, drawing one and losing two of their previous three meetings and the Blaugrana are in better form coming into this clash.  

With five wins and the draw with Betis from the last six games, Barcelona are in great shape, while Kovac’s Dortmund are trying hard to shake off inconsistency, with three wins, one draw and two defeats over that time.

In fact the Catalans are undefeated in 21 games in all competitions and unbeaten in ten at home which shows the magnitude of the task facing Borussia Dortmund. 

 

Betting Tip

At 4.63 to draw and 6.08 for a win Die Schwarzgelben have a tough challenge in Barcelona on Wednesday and if they are still in the tie when they return to Dortmund I suspect they will be happy. And, while I expect Barcelona to take a lead, I have a feeling the Blaugrana won’t be completely out of sight.

For a correct score-line I’d go for either 2-0 to Barca at 8.10, or a goal happy 3-1 at a price of 9.25.

   

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