Borussia Dortmund vs. Barcelona: UCL Previews, odds and Predictions

Get the latest previews, odds, and predictions for the upcoming UEFA Champions League match between Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona. Stay ahead with expert analysis on this exciting UCL matchup.

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Daniel A.
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Borussia Dortmund vs. Barcelona: UCL Previews, odds and Predictions

This Wednesday at the Westfalenstadion, the best-ranked match of the sixth round of the Champions League, will pit third-place Barcelona against fourth-place Borussia Dortmund.

Both teams have a 12-point lead after five games and are heavy favorites to advance to the round of 16 without playing a single match.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

After extending their excellent start in Europe with a straightforward 3-0 victory away in Croatia against Dinamo Zagreb on matchday five, Dortmund have failed to win since.

In consecutive sequences, Dortmund dropped to sixth position in the Bundesliga after their 1-1 draws with Borussia Monchengladbach. Bayern Munich kept them 12 points behind Bayern Munich in first place and out of the Champions League spots.

Although they lost their perfect home record against Bayern in a tie, Nuri Sahin's team has been sensational this season at the Westfalenstadion, winning eight of their first nine matches.

In the Champions League, BVB have been outstanding overall, and they now have a chance to win five of their first six matches for the first time since 1997, when they were holders of the title.

Their offensive prowess has been the key to Dortmund's impressive start; in their first five matches, they have scored sixteen goals. Sahin is the third manager in Champions League history to accomplish this feat, behind Thomas Tuchel and Hansi Flick, whose team will face Dortmund in the next match.

Their perfect home record in this tournament has been preserved with a hammering of Celtic and a tight win over Sturm Graz, but they will face a formidable challenge today.

Dortmund has never lost against Barcelona in European play; they have never lost in four encounters against the Catalan club.

For whatever reason, Sahin's squad has had a tough time keeping a clean sheet this season. Their most recent loss was 5-2 against Real Madrid, adding to their nine-game losing streak against Spanish rivals.

This is Dortmund's toughest January encounter out of their last three. However, Barcelona has two more challenging assignments: hosting Atalanta and traveling to Benfica. Only one of Barcelona's five games this season has been against a team seeded in the top two pots.

Even though Flick's squad showed early season promise of being a league and European double contender, their form has since declined.

After losing twice in a 2-2 draw with Real Betis on Saturday, Barcelona has won only twice in their past six games, letting Real and Atletico Madrid pull level at the top of La Liga.

However, the Catalan club has maintained consistency in Europe, winning their most recent match 3-0 against Brest to keep their spot in the top eight.

However, Barça lost at home to Las Palmas a few days later; they haven't played at Montjuic since, and they are now riding a three-game winning streak on the road.

That shouldn't stop them from scoring 37 goals in 13 away games this season, with six of those victories coming by three or more.

Also, this is Barça's chance to win five consecutive UCL games, something they haven't done in four years. They'll look to their front line for motivation, as they've scored three or more goals in each of their last four victories.

Borussia Dortmund vs. Barcelona Team News

Niklas Sule's injury sidelined him over the weekend, and Waldemar Anton, still nursing a muscular issue, joined him on the sidelines as Dortmund's defensive woes deepened.

Maximilian Beier will also not play after hurting himself in the match against Gladbach, while Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi are racing against the clock to be ready to play.

Even though Gio Reyna has been back for a little over two weeks, manager Sahin has still not given him a full runout, and he probably won't get one here, either.

Although Barça still without defender Andreas Christensen, forward Marc Bernal, and midfielder Ansu Fati due to injuries, Ronald Araujo is reportedly back to full strength after a five-month absence.

After scoring in his last two games back from injury, Ferran Torres will sit on the bench for this one. Robert Lewandowski, who scored against Brest to reach 100 UCL goals, will start up front alongside Raphinha and Lamine Yamal.

Wojciech Szczesny, who had returned to the club earlier in the season after a retirement, is given the nod over Inaki Pena as the backup keeper due to Marc-Andre ter Stegen's season-ending injury.

Our Predictions

Full-time draw @ 3.95 on Sky247.ng

Although Flick was successful in all five matches against Dortmund when managing Bayern, he may have difficulty doing so here due to BVB's incredible home record and the vulnerability that has crept into Barça's recent performances.

Although they lost severely to Real Madrid on matchday three, Dortmund has been outstanding at home and could be a major contender in this round-defining match.

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