Borussia Dortmund have been flying in this season's UEFA Champions League, with Jamie Gittens among the star performers ahead of their meeting with Barcelona. bundesliga.com explains why BVB can take another step towards the knockouts at the expense of Hansi Flick's La Liga leaders...

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1) Recent form

After an uncertain start to the season, Dortmund have come into their own in recent weeks. They reacted to three consecutive losses by beating then undefeated RB Leipzig, before sweeping aside Freiburg 4-0 on Matchday 11 and drawing with arch rivals Bayern Munich which was, despite the concession of a late equaliser, a confident performance from a side who seemed anything but just a few weeks earlier. BVB also draw at Mönchengladbach this past weekend to stay on the fringes of the top four.

It's in the Champions League, though, where Dortmund have been truly singing. Wins over Club Brugge and Celtic in their opening two games by an aggregate score of 10-1 were followed by heavy defeat away to Real Madrid, but the Black-Yellows picked themselves up to beat Sturm Graz and Dinamo Zagreb to nil and maintain a course for direct qualification to the last 16.

Dortmund thrashed Celtic 7-1 on Champions League Matchday 2. - IMAGO/Noah Wedel

2) Home record 

Dortmund's 1-1 draw with Bayern in the most recent edition of Der Klassiker made it 13 games undefeated in all competitions at the Signal Iduna Park. Of those, 10 had been consecutive wins, with only the aforementioned stalemate breaking their incredible winning streak. That record extends to European competition and includes wins against Paris Saint-Germain (1-0) and Atlético Madrid (4-2) on the way to last season's Champions League final. During their incredible run, BVB have scored 41 goals and drawn only three times.

3) Frontline fit and firing 

Gittens got the first goal of the game in Dortmund’s recent clash with Bayern, before adding his fifth Bundesliga goal of the season against Gladbach. The young Englishman has also been in fine form in Europe too, scoring four goals in five games.

Summer signing Serhou Guirassy has hit the ground running in BVB colours, equalling Gittens’ tally of four goals in the Champions League in addition to his six in the Bundesliga. He has been a big miss when out injured, with his aerial ability and willingness to run in behind making him a nightmare to defend against when fit.

That said, when Guirassy has been missing from the starting line-up, others have stepped up, such as Maximilian Beier. Having scored his first Bundesliga goal for the club against RB Leipzig while playing alongside Guirassy, Beier added his second of the season just a couple of weeks later in the Guinean's absence against Freiburg. Beier has now started in his side’s last six games in all competitions as he continues to grow in confidence at his new club.

Serhou Guirassy and Gittens (l-r.) have eight goals between them in the competition so far this season. - IMAGO/Dennis Ewert/RHR-FOTO

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4) Defensive solidity

Dortmund have kept consecutive clean sheets in their most recent Champions League fixtures, and have conceded just two across their previous three Bundesliga games. While there was a recent 3-1 loss to Mainz to digest, against the the bigger sides they've player so far (Bayern, Eintracht Frankfurt, Freiburg and Leipzig) Dortmund have conceded just twice, and they already have three clean sheets from five games in Europe.

Gregor Kobel and the rest of the Dortmund defence have tighted up in recent weeks. - IMAGO/Laci Perenyi

5) European pedigree

While their league form may have left something to be desired last season, and for some of this season too, Dortmund’s fortunes have been much better in Europe in this period. In their last 18 Champions League games, they have lost just four times, a total they have already hit in the league this term.

Three of those came in last season’s competition, when Dortmund went all the way to the final. Their opponents in that final, Real Madrid, have also inflicted their only defeat of this current Champions League campaign, pointing to just how difficult it is to beat Dortmund in continental fixtures.

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