After butting heads during the Champions League group stage, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain renew acquaintances for the first leg of an enticing semi-final showdown at Westfalenstadion on Wednesday night.
Both teams came from behind in their quarter-final ties against Spanish opposition to punch their ticket to the last four, with BVB edging past Atletico Madrid and PSG coming out on top against Barcelona.
Match preview
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Borussia Dortmund have progressed to their first Champions League semi-final since reaching the showpiece event under Jurgen Klopp in 2012-13 after beating Atletico Madrid 5-4 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, winning 4-2 in a thrilling second leg on home soil a fortnight ago.
Preparations for their last-four encounter with PSG have not gone according to plan, though, as they have failed to win their last two Bundesliga matches, drawing 1-1 with champions Bayer Leverkusen after conceding a 97th-minute equaliser before suffering a heavy 4-1 defeat at RB Leipzig last weekend.
Despite taking an early lead through Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho, who became the highest-scoring Englishman (40 goals) in Bundesliga history, Dortmund were trailing 2-1 at half time before Mohamed Simakan and Christoph Baumgartner sealed a convincing victory for Leipzig in the second half, significantly denting BVB's hopes of securing a top-four finish.
Edin Terzic's side sit fifth in the table and five points behind Leipzig in fourth with only three games remaining, although fifth spot could be enough to secure a place in next season's newly-expanded Champions League as Germany currently boasts the second-best coefficient ranking behind Italy.
Dortmund can automatically qualify for the 2024-25 Champions League if they go all the way in this season's competition, replicating the heroics of the famous 1996-97 squad, although they arguably enter the last four as underdogs with PSG and either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid standing in their way.
BVB have only won one of their previous six meetings with PSG - a 2-1 first-leg home win in the 2019-20 Champions League round-of-16 - but their home record bodes well ahead of Wednesday's contest as they have not lost any of their last 10 Champions League matches at Westfalenstadion, winning six of those and scoring 19 goals in the process.
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PSG have moved one step closer to winning their first-ever Champions League trophy after beating five-time winners Barcelona 6-4 on aggregate in an action-packed quarter-final tie, advancing to their third semi-final in five seasons.
The French giants lost 3-2 in the first leg on home soil and were then trailing 1-0 in the reverse fixture in Spain, but the dismissal of Barca's Ronald Araujo turned the tide in PSG's favour, with Kylian Mbappe (2), Vitinha and Ousmane Dembele - against his former club - all scoring to help Luis Enrique's men complete the turnaround and seal a 4-1 victory.
Two more 4-1 wins in Ligue 1 over Lyon and Lorient followed for PSG, before they were forced to rescue a 3-3 draw at home against Le Harve last weekend, with Goncalo Ramos netting a dramatic 95th-minute equaliser. Nevertheless, Les Parisiens were crowned champions for a 12th time on Sunday without kicking a ball after second-placed Monaco lost at Lyon.
Enrique's men are understandably in high spirits as they prepare for Wednesday's trip to Germany to face Dortmund, and they will be confident of success in the first leg of their Champions League tie as they are unbeaten in their last 15 away games in all competitions (W12 D3) since losing 2-1 at AC Milan in the group stage almost six months ago.
PSG finished second behind Dortmund in Group F of this season's Champions League, despite claiming four points across their two encounters with the Bundesliga outfit. Les Parisiens played out a 1-1 draw at Westfalenstadion in their most recent meeting in December and have never beaten BVB in three previous visits to Germany.
Wednesday's tie will also mark the first time that two sides have met in the group stage and semi-finals of a single Champions League campaign since the 2012-13 season, where Dortmund and Real Madrid's reunion ended with BVB progressing to the showpiece, so the historical omens are in the German side's favour.
Team News
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Borussia Dortmund will be without injured duo Ramy Bensebaini (knee) and Julien Duranville (muscle) due to injury, but Mats Hummels (shin), Donyell Malen (thigh), Sebastien Haller (ankle) and Marcel Sabitzer (illness) have all trained this week and could be fit to feature on Wednesday.
Emre Can and Ian Maatsen served a domestic suspension last weekend, but they are both available for selection against PSG; while Maatsen is in line to return at left-back, Can could replace either Salih Ozcan or Felix Nmecha in centre-midfield.
Niclas Fullkrug, who has scored a team-high 14 goals in all competitions this term, is set to lead the line and will be looking to find the net in his third successive home game, while both Sancho and Karim Adeyemi are expected to provide support on the flanks.
As for Paris Saint-Germain, they are still having to cope without Presnel Kimpembe (Achilles), Layvin Kurzawa (back) and Sergio Rico (head) as they continue to recover from injury.
Enrique opted to rest Gianluigi Donnarumma, Nuno Mendes, Lucas Hernandez and Fabian Ruiz last weekend, but they are all in contention to feature on Wednesday, with the former expected to start between the sticks at the expense of Keylor Navas.
Mbappe is also in line for a recall after beginning as a substitute last time out; the striker has scored eight of his 43 goals this season in the Champions League and could be joined in attack by Dembele and Bradley Barcola.
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Sabitzer, Can; Adeyemi, Brandt, Sancho; Fullkrug
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Donnarumma; Hakimi, Marquinhos, Danilo, Hernandez; Vitinha, Zaire-Emery; Dembele, Asensio, Barcola; Mbappe
We say: Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain
An entertaining contest between two attack-minded teams could be on the cards on Wednesday and both sides have reason to be optimistic of gaining a first-leg advantage, although PSG will be regarded as slight favourites.
The French giants have won their last five away games in all competitions, scoring 18 goals in the process, and with star striker Mbappe among a number of first-team players refreshed and ready to return to the starting lineup, we believe Enrique's men may do enough to claim a narrow victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
