Five-time winners Barcelona kick off their UEFA Champions League adventure with a very difficult match, they travel to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park. Despite their rich history in European competitions, these two sides have met just twice before, both matches were in the UEFA Super Cup back in 1998. At that time it was a two-legged tie, Barcelona won 2-0 at home and got a 1-1 draw in Dortmund. Borussia have won just 9 of their 30 matches against Spanish sides in European competitions, but they managed to win 8 out of 14 at home.
Borussia Dortmund had an almost flawless start to the season, they defeated rivals Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup and then won four of the following four matches in all competitions. Their only setback was the 3-1 defeat at Union Berlin just before the international break, but they recovered with a 4-0 home victory over Bayer Leverkusen last week. Nico Schulz and Mateu Morey are injured, while Lukasz Piszczek is not fully fit and will most likely have to take a seat on the reserves bench.
Barcelona didn't have the smotthest ride at the start of the season, they kicked things off with a 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao in LaLiga and were unable to get more than a 2-2 draw at Osasuna. Their home matches went a lot better, they defeated both Betis and Valencia 5-2. However, they were without Lionel Messi in all those four matches, the Argentinian star is now fit and should be in the starting eleven at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund. Samuel Umtiti and Ousmane Dembele rare still injured and won't be in the squad for this game.
Probable line-ups:
Dortmund: Burki - Hakimi, Akanji, Hummels, Guerreiro - Weigl, Witsel - Sancho, Reus, Hazard - Alcacer
Barcelona: Ter Stegen - Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba - De Jong, Busquets, Arthur - Messi, Suarez, Griezmann
My prediction:
Barcelona have been conceding a lot of goals this season, and Borussia Dortmund should be able to take advantage of that weakness. However, with Lionel Messi in the starting eleven, I think Barca will be able to get a 2-2 draw in Dortmund.
Here are the odds for the match at NetBet:
Dortmund win - 3.30
Draw - 3.70
Barcelona win - 2.15
sharpe
5 years ago
Super Hero
I think it would be really tough game for Barcelona this one but of course the Messi and Suarez return could make all the difference for them of course. Dortmund are usually very fluent in attack at their own ground and I'm tempted to even pick them for a win in this one...may look a weird prediction but I'll say 4-2...
I think it would be really tough game for Barcelona this one but of course the Messi and Suarez return could make all the difference for them of course. Dortmund are usually very fluent in attack at their own ground and I'm tempted to even pick them for a win in this one...may look a weird prediction but I'll say 4-2 to the home side.
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