According to various sources, Borussia Dortmund will face Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinal second leg with a completely modified XI. Considering the 4-nil advantage acquired by the Catalans, it is most prudent from Niko Kovač to rotate the squad, as some injuries and precautionary measures are directly related to the following changes.
According to RNBVB, Carney Chukwuemeka will be out of today's encounter due to an injury setback, as the young Brit has suffered from recurrent issues since joining the Black-and-Yellows. Patrick Berger further confirmed that information, as the Sky Sports journalist also gave several other updates on the plausible XI for the second leg.
As Sky Sports reporter Jesco von Eichmann confirmed firsthand, Emre Can and Julian Ryerson will also be spared from playing tonight. At the same time, Ramy Bensebaini and Yan Couto are highly likely to be selected for the starting lineups. In addition, Julian Brandt would also be benched.
Therefore, Borussia Dortmund could be playing with a completely different lineup and formation as the Black-and-Yellows are virtually eliminated, having to come back from a four-goal deficit against one of the best teams in Europe in Barcelona. With those changes, it would send a message to BVB fans that the focus has been entirely shifted to the Bundesliga, as Dortmund will face Mönchengladbach at the Signal Iduna Park on Sunday.
New Projected Starting-XI Against FC Barcelona
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel; Yan Couto, Anton, Bensebaini, Svensson; Nmecha, Groß, Reyna; Adeyemi, Beier, Guirassy.