Predictions Champions League - Borussia Dortmund vs Paris Saint-Germain

Champions League - Borussia Dortmund vs Paris Saint-Germain
Match Time: 02-05-2024 03:00 Thursday (GMT+8)
Football Livescore | Match Prediction & Tips
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Borussia Dortmund

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.

PSG

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.

Prediction: orussia Dortmund 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain