Pre-Match Report
The fifth "B" for Barcelona – BVB unbeaten at home
The scenario: Fourth versus third! Both teams have started the competition with four wins and one defeat (Barca have a +3 superior goal difference). According to computer simulations, 16 or 17 points are required in order to qualify directly for the round of 16 (eighth place or higher) – on that basis, both teams still need to pick up four or five more points from their remaining three matches.
The campaign so far: Barcelona suffered their only defeat so far on Matchday 1 in Monaco (2-1) and have since claimed four wins on the bounce: 5-0 against Young Boys, 4-1 against Bayern, 5-2 in Belgrade and 3-0 against Brest. BVB started with a 3-0 victory in Bruges and a 7-1 win against Celtic, then lost 5-2 in Madrid before subsequently winning 1-0 against Sturm and 3-0 in Zagreb.
Home/away: The Black & Yellows are unbeaten in 13 home games in the UEFA Champions League and have recorded nine wins and four draws in that run. The combined goal difference is 28-5. They have conceded in only three of those 13 home games. They have won all their home games in 2024 (five wins, 15-3 goals). The "Blaugrana" have lost 12 of their last 38 away games in European competition (10 draws, 16 wins).
Head-to-head record: The two clubs are set to meet for the third time after the 1997 European Super Cup (played in January and March 1998, 1-1 H, 0-2 A) and in the group stages of the 2019/20 Champions League campaign (0-0 H, 1-3 A) – BVB are therefore still unbeaten at home against Barca (two draws). The Black & Yellows picked up only the fourth win in their last 16 matches against clubs from La Liga when they beat Atlético Madrid 4-2 in the quarter-final return leg last season. But BVB have lost only three of their 19 home matches against Spanish visitors (nine wins, seven draws) and only one of their last 11 (six wins, four draws).
Barcelona facts: The five-time European champions reached the last 16 in 2023/24 for the first time in three seasons. Their most successful era in this competition came between 2007/08 and 2019/20, when they always reached the quarter-final stage at least. Barca have won a major UEFA club competition 14 times: the European Cup / Champions League on five occasions, the European Cup Winners' Cup four times and the UEFA Cup five times. Robert Lewandowski became only the third player to pass the 100 goal mark in the UEFA Champions League in the last home game against Brest.
Champions League: Borussia Dortmund are taking part in the UEFA Champions League for the 19th time (only 09 clubs have been involved more frequently), have reached the knockout stages in nine of their last 11 campaigns and have gotten to the final three times in total (winner in 1997, runner-up in 2013 and 2024). Barcelona are the record participants: they are involved in this competition for the 30th time, have been ever-present since 2003 and have won it four times, most recently in 2015.
Compiled by Boris Rupert