New faces at Borussia Dortmund
FC Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund are about to go head-to-head in the UEFA Champions League quarter finals, having already met in the League Phase of the same competition, a game that the Catalans won 3-2 away from home.
Old friend of Flick's
That game is a useful gauge for the Wednesday 9pm CEST re-encounter, but quite a lot has changed at Dortmund since the sides last met. The biggest is on the bench, where Nuri Sahin is no longer coach, having been replaced by Niko Kovac, somebody Hansi Flick knows only too well. The duo worked together at Bayern Munich in 2019/2020, when the current Barça boss was the Croatian's assistant.
Ins and outs
Dortmund were also busy in the winter transfer market. Austria-born England U20 international Carney Chukwuemeka has joined on loan from Chelsea, and fellow midfielder Daniel Svensson is on loan from Danish club Nordsjælland. Both started last weekend's 4-1 win at Freiberg, the former scoring one of the goals. However, the club has lost Donyell Malen, who is now at Aston Villa.
Form guide
The changes have only produced a very slight improvement in Dortmund's domestic situation. They may be in the last eight of the Champions League, but it has been a disappointing campaign for them in the Bundesliga. They are currently eighth, four points adrift of a berth in the UCL next season.
They have only won five of their last 13 league games, and lost seven, including home defeats to both Stuttgart and Augsburg.
Guinean Serhou Guirassy remains the man to watch up front, with 25 goals across all competitions, including two against Barça in the League Phase.