Hansi Flick’s Charges Set to Stamp their S’final Ticket 

FC Barcelona are aiming to reach the semi-finals of this tournament for the first time since 2019 and they have a great chance of doing so, given that they travel to Dortmund with a 4-0 advantage. It was an exhibition at home in the first leg and Los Azulgranas have now gone 23 matches without losing, the fifth-greatest unbeaten run in club history after those achieved under Frank Rijkaard (24), Pep Guardiola (28), Ernesto Valverde (29) and Luis Enrique (39). They have been very solid at the back, conceding less than a goal per game across their past five matches, with Wojciech Szczęsny remains unbeaten at the club.

Looking at the stars of this excellent run of form, the trident of Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal stand out with their 82 goals. They are terrifying defences at home and abroad, with more goals than the attacks this season of Bayern Munich (65), Real Madrid (64), PSG (64), Liverpool (62) and Atlético de Madrid (55). Lamine Yamal is still just 17 years of age and continues to break records, most recently becoming the under-18 with the most appearances in the competition. He was brilliant in the first leg, participating directly in the creation of three goals and scoring one of his own. Alongside him is Raphinha, the competition’s top scorer with 12 strikes. Then, there’s the veteran Lewandowski, who scored a brace to reach 48 goals in Champions League knockout ties. He is also just one goal away from his 100th as a Barça player and he will look to add to his tally of 29 goals in 28 games against Borussia Dortmund, his former home.

It would be a miracle if Borussia Dortmund progress on Tuesday, even though they’ve won their past five two-legged knockout ties in the Champions League, including a win against a Spanish side with a 5–4 aggregate victory over Atlético de Madrid last season. Overall, their record against Spanish teams in two-legged ties is seven triumphs and three defeats. Given their proud history, Signal Iduna Park will roar and do its part to try to encourage Niko Kovač’s troops. They have goals in them, with Serhou Guirassy boasting 10 goals this European campaign, while Karim Adeyemi and Julian Brandt will also need to be at their best if there is to even be a hope of a comeback, ahead of a semi-final against either Bayern Munich or Inter.