The semi-final stage of the Champions League gets underway this week, as the important first legs take place across Europe. Borussia Dortmund will be hoping to defy the odds in their final four showdown against PSG, as the two remaining Bundesliga teams in the competition look to set up an all-German showdown at Wembley in early June.
It has been a fine Champions League campaign to this point for Bayer Leverkusen, as they have exceeded all expectations to reach this stage of the competition. Many expected Dortmund to struggle to make it out of their group, but they ultimately finished a place above PSG to seal top spot in the opening round.
Their performances have continued to be strong since the knockout round has got underway, eliminating PSV and Atletico Madrid in each of the last two rounds. However, the attention will be on their home tie this week after winning each of their last two with home field advantage. Their most recent success was a captivating 4-2 win over Atletico Madrid in mid-April. That success means that they are now unbeaten across their last ten home matches in the Champions League, which is their longest unbeaten sequence in the competition. In fact, only Man City, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid are currently on a longer unbeaten streak in home matches in the Champions League.
PSG continue to chase their first ever Champions League success, and this could be their best opportunity. Luis Enrique has previous experience of winning the tournament, and the French side have been excellent since finishing second in the group stage.
The Parisians have eliminated Real Sociedad and Barcelona in each of the previous two rounds, with their most recent outing seeing them land an excellent 4-1 away win against their Catalonian rivals. Kylian Mbappe netted twice in that success, while Ousmane Dembele was a standout star against his former side. The Frenchman will be looking for another impressive display against another of his former sides this week.
Dortmund’s record in this fixture would be a slight concern this week, as they have won just once in their last six against PSG. Over that spell, they have played out three draws and have suffered two defeats. Their only win was in their first leg of the round of 16 tie in 2019-20.
However, it could be worth noting that PSG have never recorded an away victory against Dortmund in three previous attempts. They failed to land victory in the showdown between the sides at Signal Iduna Park earlier this season, with the teams playing out a 1-1 draw in Germany.
Dortmund will have a number of defensive injuries to address this week, with both Mats Hummels and Ian Maatsen set to miss out. Donyell Malen is also expected to miss out on the first leg after picking up a thigh injury.
PSG are nearly back to full strength at this stage of the season. However, Presnel Kimpembe remains out until the start of next season with an Achilles injury.
Dortmund’s home record in the Champions League this season has been incredibly impressive, and that could be a key trend to follow this week. The German side will likely need to avoid defeat in this first meeting between the sides to stand any chance of progression to the final at Wembley.
Therefore, we could see Dortmund enjoying a famous night in front of their home fans by landing a 2-0 success against the reigning French champions.
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