Barcelona’s excellent run of form makes them the clear favorites for this match. Hansi Flick has transformed the team into a well-oiled machine, and they are playing with confidence and flair.
Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund are set to clash in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal, with a potential showdown against Inter Milan looming in the next round after their impressive victory over Bayern Munich.
Barcelona enters the match at Montjuïc as the favorite, enjoying an excellent run of form that has seen them go unbeaten in their first 22 matches of 2025 (18 wins and 4 draws). Dortmund, on the other hand, arrives with injuries and doubts, and has never been able to defeat Barça, recording three defeats and two draws in their five encounters.
In December, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona secured a superb victory on their visit to Dortmund, and since then their soccer performance has only increased, becoming not yet a favorite but a candidate for a tournament that, from the start, has its champion against the ropes, after Real Madrid was overwhelmed in London by Arsenal.
Niko Kovac, who was Hansi Flick’s assistant at Bayern at the beginning of the 2019-20 season and whom he replaced when the Croatian was fired to lead the Bavarian team to the Sextuple of titles, arrived in Dortmund last January replacing Nuri Sahin and since then has directed 13 matches to Borussia, with a balance of seven wins, two draws and four defeats.
In Barcelona, Kovac will not be able to count on the injured Nico Schlotterbeck and Marcel Sabitzer, in addition to the sanctioned Pascal Gross, while Flick maintains the casualties due to injury of Marc-André ter Stegen, Marc Casadó and Dani Olmo, in addition to the threat to Iñigo Martínez, who in case of being cautioned in this first leg match could not play in Dortmund.
Predicted lineups
- FC Barcelona: Wojciech Szczesny, Jules Koundé, Pau Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez, Alejandro Balde, Frenkie de Jong, Gavi, Pedri, Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, and Robert Lewandowski.
- Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Ryerson, Anton, Emre Can, Bensebaini, Nmecha, Julian Brandt, Chukwuemeka, Beierm Adeyemi, and Guirassy.
