Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona Prediction: Ferran Torres can score anytime at decent odds

Often in football, second legs are thrilling affairs. On other occasions though, they loom on the horizon with the result all but known to everyone. We have one of these on Tuesday when Barcelona travel to Germany to take on Borussia Dortmund with a four-goal advantage on aggregate. TNT Sports 1 has the broadcast in the UK with kick-off set for 20:00

Our Spanish football expert Mark Sochon ignores the match result markets and picks out two prop bets for the Champions League Quarter-Final. You can check out his Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona Predictions below...

Barcelona have got one foot in the last four of the Champions League after hammering Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie. The sides meet again at the Westfalenstadion on Tuesday night. 

While Dortmund did create a few opportunities of their own last week, it was a dominant overall display from the Catalans who swept forward in waves and were much too good for an unconvincing visiting defence. 

All the goals came via a front three that continues to thrive, with Raphinha tapping in Pau Cubarsí's effort to set the ball rolling in the 25th minute. Robert Lewandowski scored twice against his old club after the break, before Lamine Yamal surely put the tie to bed with a fourth Barça goal 13 minutes from time. 

While you don't have to look too far back for evidence of second-leg collapses away from home from Barcelona in this competition, it is going to take an absolutely miraculous turnaround from Borussia Dortmund to stop Hansi Flick's side from advancing into a semi-final tie against Inter Milan or Bayern Munich. 

To their credit, Dortmund did respond well to their defeat last Wednesday, by drawing 2-2 away to Bundesliga leaders Bayern at the weekend. They took the lead in Der Klassiker thanks to a strike from Maximilian Beier, but ultimately needed a strike from defender Waldemar Anton to salvage a point at the end of a frantic second half. 

They can always rely on loud and loyal support in their own stadium, but a quick glance at their current home form suggests that this is by no means the fortress it has been in recent years. 

It's only three wins from 12 matches at home in all competitions for Die Schwarzgelben. They were held in front of their own fans by Sporting and Lille in the two previous Champions League knockout rounds, and they've already tasted defeat against Barcelona at the Westfalenstadion this season, with Ferran Torres scoring a late brace to seal a 3-2 win for the Spanish league leaders back in December. 

With Niko Kovač's side currently only 8th in the Bundesliga and on course to miss out on a place in next season's competition, this match is likely to be their last in the Champions League for some time. 

By contrast, Barcelona are edging closer towards a potential final in Munich at the end of next month.They've won nine out of 10 in Europe, since losing their opening league phase match in Monaco back in September. 

They are averaging 3.27 goals per game in the Champions League this term, and have the two highest scoring players in the competition, with Raphinha on 12 goals, one clear of Lewandowski on 11. Raphinha is also the player with the most assists (seven), in what has been a sensational European campaign from the Brazilian. 

With such a significant advantage, Flick has many options when it comes to setting his team up here. He could opt to instruct his team to essentially just continue playing their natural game, although we may see Barça's notoriously high line just shift backwards a bit, with no real need for the visitors to take any undue risks here. 

They are also competing on two other fronts, with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Leganés in La Liga on Saturday ensuring they maintained a four-point lead on Real Madrid at the top. A Copa del Rey final against Los Blancos is also less than a fortnight away now, so some light rotation is certainly possible here from the away team given their four-goal lead. 

Team News: 

There's good news for the home team, with Pascal Groß available to play in this match after the ex-Brighton man missed the first leg due to suspension. His presence will be a boost in midfield. 

However, Marcel Sabitzer and Nico Schlotterbeck are both sidelined again due to injuries, while Maximilian Beier is pushing for a start after his weekend goal in Munich. Kovač switched to a back three for that game, and he may consider a repeat here. 

As for Barcelona, they suffered a fresh setback on Saturday, with Alejandro Balde picking up a hamstring injury which will rule him out of this game. Gerard Martín is likely to fill in at left-back as a result. 

Marc Casadó, Marc Bernal and Marc-André ter Stegen also remain sidelined with injuries, but Dani Olmo has been included in the squad for the trip to Germany. Flick is likely to make changes from the trip to Butarque, with Cubarsí, Gavi, Ferran and Frenkie de Jong all potentially coming into the starting lineup. 

Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona Odds

Borussia Dortmund can be backed at 13/5 to win the match, and 50/1 to win the tie which is a measure of the almost impossible task they have on their hands on Tuesday night. You can back Barcelona to win on the night at 9/10, while the Draw is available at 100/30. 

If you're expecting the visitors to seal their semi-final place in style, you can back Barcelona -1.00 Handicap at 15/8. Meanwhile, Barcelona/Barcelona is priced at 9/5 in the Half-Time/Full-Time market. 

You can back the hosts to make things somewhat interesting by scoring first in this game at 5/4. Dortmund are priced at 5/4 to score over 1.5 goals, while they are on offer at 11/1 to score over 3.5 goals, a bet that must land if they're to stand any chance of progressing from this tie. 

Raphinha is available at 13/10 to score anytime and continue his stunning season in the Champions League. You can also back the winger to register 1+ assists at 9/4, after he set up two goals in the first leg. 

Dortmund can also count on the services of one of just four players to reach double figures for goals so far in this season's competition. Serhou Guirassy has netted 10 times in 13 Champions League outings, and he's on offer at 11/2 to score first and 6/4 to score anytime. 

Bet 1 - Both teams to score & Serhou Guirassy 1+ shots on target @ 4/5 

Guirassy certainly looks likely to offer the home team's main goal threat. Even in a one-sided first leg, he still managed to have three shots in Barcelona, with one of those hitting the target. The Guinean striker has had at least one shot on target in each of his last five club appearances. 

Dortmund have simply got to go for this, and they do have enough firepower at their disposal to pose problems for Barça. Scoring four goals is clearly a very tough ask, but keeping a clean sheet may prove every bit as challenging, with the visiting attack packed full of pace and players who are capable of exploiting the inevitable space that the home team will leave as they chase goals. 

Given that, we should get another game with opportunities for both teams, and I'm using the Bet Builder to back Both teams to score and Serhou Guirassy 1+ shots on target at 4/5. 

Bet 2 - Ferran Torres to score anytime @ 13/10 

With 36-year-old Lewandowski having started three matches in the space of eight days, this feels like the ideal opportunity for Flick to rest the Polish striker and go with Ferran up front. 

There's even a strong tactical argument to suggest that might be the best way to go in any case. Ferran has the pace to run beyond the Dortmund defence in a way that Lewandowski can't, and that may be very useful in a game where Barça look to drop a little deeper, and attempt to strike on the break. 

The Spanish international has been in terrific form too. Despite only really being a fringe player, he's already on 16 goals for the season in all competitions. He has scored five goals at a rate of one every 56 minutes for Barça since coming off the bench to net twice against Atlético Madrid in La Liga last month. Having also made a big impact with a brace on Barça's visit to Dortmund at the end of last year, I'm backing Ferran Torres to score anytime at 13/10. 

Offers:

Tuesday (15/04): Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any Champions League game on Tuesday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Wednesday’s Champions League games. (Credited upon Bet Settlement).

Double Delight & Hat-Trick Heaven: Get double or treble the odds if your winning First Goalscorer bet scores a 2nd and 3rd

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

Mark Sochon primarily covers Spanish Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out Mark's La Liga Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Spanish Football writers on our La Liga home page.