Watch out for the Yellow Wall
Barcelona head to Dortmund on Wednesday in the Champions League and face a team with an excellent home record this season as well as in Europe’s premier club competition.
Dortmund have been imperious at Westfalenstadium and have won seven of eight games in front of the Yellow Wall in the Bundesliga. The only match where they dropped points was a 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich. Of those seven games, the Bundesliga side have scored 19 goals and conceded just seven.
It’s been a similar story in Europe. Dortmund thumped Celtic 7-1 and squeezed past Sturm Graz 1-0 in their two home games. That’s now 13 straight home games without a loss in the Champions League, a run that stretches all the way back to November 2021.
In total they have won four of five Champions League matches this season, with their only defeat being a 5-2 loss to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
Nico Schlotterbeck has already warned Barca to expect a spicy atmosphere in Germany, posting on social media: “Now comes a tough game, a home game against Barcelona. The stadium will boil.”
Dortmund’s home has a capacity of 81,365 spectators, with the southern terrace known as the Yellow Wall boasting 25,000 fans, and make no mistake they will make themselves heard.
But Flick has never lost to Dortmund
The good news for Barcelona is that manager Hansi Flick knows all about Dortmund and has never lost to them in his career.
He’s played Dortmund five times, enjoyed five wins and seen his team score 15 goals during those matches.
Barcelona also possess an unbeaten record against the Bundesliga team. The two teams have played each other eight times in total, with Barca having won six and drawn two of those fixtures.
And Flick will know his team really needs a win after hitting a bumpy patch in La Liga in recent weeks.
The German opted to take key players off in the draw against Betis at the weekend saying he needed “fresh legs” and pointing out his team have a “big match” on Wednesday night.
A victory will keep Barcelona very much on course for a top-eight finish while dropped points will see more questions asked of Flick’s team and their current progress.
Dortmund reunion for Lewandowski
Wednesday’s match will see Robert Lewandowski line up against former employers once more and he’ll be hoping for more goals against Dortmund.
The striker scored 103 goals in 187 games during his time at BVB before moving on to Bayern Munich and then Barcelona.
Lewandowski is no stranger to netting against Dortmund. He’s faced them 23 times previously in Germany, scoring 26 goals - an impressive record.
16 - Robert Lewandowski is the first player to score 16 goals in his first 16 games of a LaLiga season since Lionel Messi in 2018/19 (also 16), both with FC Barcelona. Performance. pic.twitter.com/CV9C0sN05B
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 7, 2024
The striker also heads into the match in prolific form once more. He has 23 goals already this season for Barcelona in all competitions and seven in five in the Champions League.
Flick will also be hoping Lewandowski will be fairly fresh for this one, after taking him off in the second half against Betis and leaving him out completely against Real Mallorca.