Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund: History Makes Painful Reading for BVB & 5 Other Key Stats

A fixture boasting two top European sides for you to feast your eyes on this Wednesday? Sounds like the perfect night in.

Nothing is certain yet ahead of this crunch clash, but Barcelona know they can qualify as Group F winners if they overcome Borussia Dortmund at Camp Nou.

Meanwhile, if the Bundesliga outfit come away from Spain with all three points, they too will have booked their place in the knockout stages, although top spot would still be very much up for grabs.

That, however, is easier said than done. The German side haven't had the best of times in Spain, as these Opta stats will testify.

Various permutations also exist should a draw occur, but that will all be decided when the results of Inter's clash with Slavia Prague emerge. In the meantime, why don't you earn some serious #streetcred by blowing your mates away with some factual insight? Thought so.

No Gain in Spain

A daunting task at any stage of the competition, or even in a friendly for that matter, Dortmund will have to banish some familiar demons when they take to the hallowed Camp Nou turf on Wednesday night.

In all of their Champions League visits to the country, Die Borussen have emerged victorious just once - in 1998 against Atletico Madrid - but have failed to win in any of their nine clashes since then, losing on six occasions.

Fourth Time Lucky?

Worthy adversaries for any side, Dortmund are yet to taste victory in any of their three encounters with Ernesto Valverde's side in the competition.

Granted, it is Barça, but they will need to halt a run of form against the current La Liga leaders if they are to stand a good chance of reaching the next round.

Can We Play You Every Week?

German sides that is. Oh, and not Bayern Munich.

That's because Barça love when the Bundesliga sides come to town. La Blaugrana have won 13 of their 15 home Champions League matches against German opponents (W13 D0 L2) – their two defeats have both been against Bayern (2-1 in November 1998 and 3-0 in May 2013).

Speaking of History....

There is light at the end of the tunnel for Dortmund, however.

Consistency is key in football, but sometimes the right performance at the right time can be pivotal towards a side's aims. Rather bizarrely, Dortmund’s last seven away Champions League matches have alternated between a defeat and a victory.

And, guess what, they lost 2-0 in their last away match against Inter.

Boring, Boring Barcelona

That is a stretch, yes, but two of Barcelona’s four Champions League games have ended goalless this season. Mad, right?

Even more insane, since the start of the 2017/18 season, they have drawn five games 0-0 in the competition, two more than any other team. Crazy, right?

Misfiring Messi

Two words that don't often go together, but, well, that's kind of been the case for Lionel Messi at Camp Nou. At least in the Champions League, that is. And, recently, it must be added.

Nevertheless, Messi scored with his last shot at Camp Nou in the 2018/19 campaign, but since then he has attempted 12 without success this season, failing to score in both home matches.

Hat-trick incoming...

Moroccan Maestro Comes to Town

Achraf Hakimi is a striker playing full-back. There is no other way to justify his European season thus far.

He's already bagged four in the competition this season and is on course to become the highest-scoring Moroccan ever in a single Champions League campaign.

The current record holder is Hakim Ziyech, right? Nah, think again. It was Marouane Chamakh in the 2009/10 season with Bordeaux, duh.

Comeback Kings

Dortmund recovered from two goals down to beat Inter 3-2 on matchday four, the first time they'd ever done so in a Champions League match. Incredible, right?

I mean, not many sides could have done that, surely? Yeah, only the measly 20.

European football is great.