Dortmund vs Barcelona

Barcelona or simply Barca as one of the biggest European clubs always has the biggest ambitions in all competitions during the season. They didn’t start this La Liga as they were hopping. After 3 games they are in 8th place with 4 points. Last week they failed to win against Osasuna and in this match, they want to show that those 2:2 was a surprise. Barca’s style of play is the same during the last decade, ball control, possession and short passes are their trademark and brought them a lot of success. Valencia started this season with the same bag of mixed results as Barca. They recorded 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss but they aren’t playing so openly and in those 3 games we saw 5 goals on both sides contrary to the 12 in Barca’s first 3 games. They will approach this clash with the same idea as every rival of Barcelona, they need to find a way to neutralize their ability to control the ball.

PREDITIONS

Barcelona’s stunning Champions League semi-final collapse at Liverpool last season ensures that the competition is once more the priority for them this campaign. The Blaugrana have won eight of the last 11 La Liga titles but have not reached a European final since 2015 and the Anfield capitulation brought back memories of Roma the previous season. This is a really tough group – arguably the toughest of the eight – with Italian giants Inter also involved alongside Slavia Prague of the Czech Republic. Borussia Dortmund will be hoping to better their Champions League Round of 16 exit against Tottenham last year, while they finished second in the Bundesliga. The visitors will be favourites to get their campaign off to a winning start despite not possessing home advantage, and their average start to the campaign. The away side are favourites to win this game although it may not be comfortable and indeed a 2-2 draw is the most likely outcome of this game.