Borussia Dortmund are dreaming of playing another Champions League final at Wembley on June 1 but in order to get there they must finally beat Paris Saint-Germain.
The two sides have already met in this season's group stage, with PSG winning 2-0 at home and the reverse fixture in Germany ending 1-1 when Dortmund were already qualified for the knock-out rounds.
PSG also had the upper hand in their last 16 tie in 2020, 3-2 on aggregate from a 2-1 defeat in Dortmund and 2-0 success in an empty Parc des Princes at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
But, boosted by their impressive 4-2 triumph over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, Dortmund now want to go all the way to the final like they last did in 2013, before losing the Wembley decider against Bayern Munich.
"It is our turn to win now," forward Julian Brandt said of the latest duel with Kylian Mbappe's French champions.
"We played a very bad match in Paris. But we learnt from that and played 1-1 at home."
Coach Edin Terzic said: "We didn't like the first game in Paris at all. The second match in Dortmund was very different, close once again, but we managed to get closer to victory than they did.
"We're a much more solid team than we were in September or even December."
Striker Niclas Füllkrug said that it would be "nonsense" not to think about the final, and spoke of a "magical" night against Atletico where he restored Dortmund's lead at 3-2 after Atletico had rallied from two goals down to 2-2.
Sporting director Sebastian Kehl said Dortmund will prepare "in a highly focussed way" for PSG who for their part overturned a 3-2 home defeat against Barcelona with a 4-1 triumph over decimated opponents in Spain, with Mbappe netting a brace.
PSG's Ousmane Dembele, who formerly played at Dortmund, spoke of a "big chance" to reach the final in their ongoing search for a first ever Champions League title.
Mbappe, who was denied a goal in Dortmund by an extraordinary goal-line clearance from defender Niklas Süle, added: "It's very difficult because we've already played them in the group stage, but we will try to win the first match to start with."
The semis are scheduled for April 30 in Dortmund and May 8 in Paris but before that Dortmund face two daunting tasks in their fight for a top four finish in an up and down Bundesliga season to guarantee a return to the elite event next season.
On Sunday, they host freshly crowned champions Bayer Leverkusen who have not lost a match all season, and the following weekend travel to RB Leipzig who are fourth ahead of them on goal difference.
"It's already a statement to be among the best four teams in Europe. But we also know that we now need two wins against Leverkusen and Leipzig in order to be able to play in this competition next year too," Kehl said.
Winning the Champions League for the second time after 1997 would also secure them a place next season but even fifth place in the league could be enough to join the new look event in 2024-25.
That is because two of the four additional slots go to the two best-ranked nations, with Germany currently second behind Italy and ahead of England.
Dortmund boosted their chances by reaching the semi-finals, and things would look even better if Bayern oust Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday, and Leverkusen eliminate West Ham United in the Europa League on Thursday in direct Bundesliga-Premier League duels.
