Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund predictions: Goals expected from Catalonian contest
&w=707&quality=100)
- Barcelona are the leading scorers in this season's Champions League
- Barca beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in December
- Recommended bet: Over 3.5 goals
Barcelona have lit up the Champions League with their attacking style of football this season and they are well-fancied to go the distance heading into the competition's quarter-finals.
Only Liverpool, who have since exited the competition, finished above Barca in the league phase and Hansi Flick's men were comfortable 4-1 winners on aggregate against Benfica in the last 16.
A quadruple is still very much on the cards for the Catalan giants, but they should expect some resistance from Borussia Dortmund, who have been showing signs of improvement.
Dortmund dispatched Sporting Lisbon and Lille in their two knockout ties and will be eager to make an impression in the first leg at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Team news
Barcelona will be without midfield maestro Dani Olmo, who is dealing with a muscular problem, while Marc Casado, Marc Bernal and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are all sidelined.
As for Borussia Dortmund, they will be missing key midfielder Marcel Sabitzer, as well as defender Nico Schlotterbeck, who is out for the rest of the season.
Pascal Gross, meanwhile, is suspended, while Serhous Guirassy will lead the attack.
&w=707&quality=100)
The stats
Seven of Barcelona's 10 Champions League fixtures this season have featured over 3.5 goals.
And between them, Barca and Borussia Dortmund have scored a combined 60 goals in the competition this term.
Raphinha, in particular, has impressed in the Champions League for the Catalan giants with 11 goals and five assists.
Dortmund have started to turn a corner under Niko Kovac and have won their last two games by an aggregate score of 7-2.
Prediction
Barcelona possess one of the most dangerous attacking units in world football at the moment in Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal.
The trio have helped Barca net 32 goals in the Champions League this season — the most in the competition — and they have shown on more than one occasion that they can put teams to the sword.
But while they will likely dominate possession and create plenty of chances, their commitment to attack can often leave them exposed at the back.
Full-backs Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde, for example, love to push forwards and help create chances but that could leave them vulnerable to the counter-attack.
And while Dortmund are not having their best season, they still carry their own attacking threat on the break and striker Guirassy has netted 10 goals in the competition this season.
When these sides clashed back in December in the competition's league phase, Barca ran out 3-2 winners and this could be another high-scoring affair.
Barca will want to put the game beyond Dortmund in the first leg but their defence has struggled for clean sheets and over 3.5 goals could be a smart betting approach to the game.
Win up to £250,000 with LiveScore 6!
Win up to £250,000 with our free-to-play game, LiveScore 6!
