Reigning European champions Barcelona Women will head to Germany for Wednesday’s Women’s Champions League clash against Wolfsburg Women.
The two sides are set to meet in a European tie for the fifth occasion and first time since Barcelona beat Wolfsburg 3-2 in the 2022-23 final.
Match preview
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Wolfsburg are participating in the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals after pipping Roma to second spot in Group A.
The German side won three and lost three of their matches as they finished level on nine points with the Italian side, but crucially, their superior head-to-head record proved enough to advance into the knockout rounds alongside group winners Lyon.
Wolfsburg will have to pick themselves up for a difficult first leg against Barcelona after falling to a 3-1 away defeat in Friday’s clash against Frauen-Bundesliga title rivals Bayern Munich, leaving them in third place and six points adrift of the summit.
Tommy Stroot‘s side can at least take confidence from the fact they have won their last six competitive home games, scoring at least three goals in each of those matches.
They have also won their previous two home meetings in a two-legged European clash against Barcelona, although they did win 5-3 in the most recent of those ties in the 2021-22 semi-finals despite winning 2-0 in the home leg.
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Barcelona are looking to win their fourth European title after winning the Women’s Champions League in three of the last four seasons.
Their defence of the Women’s Champions League trophy got off to a poor start with a 2-0 away defeat against Manchester City in October.
However, they bounced back from that disappointment to win their next five group matches, including a dominant 3-0 win over the Citizens on matchday six to snatch top spot due to their favourable head-to-head record.
Barcelona are now preparing to face Wolfsburg for the first time since they came from two goals down to win 3-2 in the 2022-23 final – a result that makes up a three-game winning run in competitive games against German opposition.
While they have lost two of their last three European matches in Germany, the Blaugrana have won each of their previous 15 competitive away matches, scoring at least three goals in 10 of those games and keeping 10 clean sheets in that period.
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Team News
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Wolfsburg are expected to be without the services of defender Camilla Kuver and forward Luca Papp due to injury.
Goalkeeper Merle Frohms is a doubt for the first leg after missing each of the club’s last four competitive matches.
Experienced forward Alex Popp is set to lead the line for the hosts, with the Wolfsburg star looking to add to the four goals she scored in the group stage.
As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon forward Claudia Pina, who is set to miss a third consecutive game with a muscle injury.
Barcelona will have to assess the fitness of Ellie Roebuck and Kika Nazareth after the pair sat out Saturday’s 2-0 win over Costa Adeje Tenerife with leg and ankle problems respectively.
After resting a number of players at the weekend, Pere Romeu is set to recall Ona Batlle, Esmee Brugts, Aitana Bonmati, Patri Guijarro, Caroline Graham Hansen and Salma Paralluelo.
Former Wolfsburg forward Ewa Pajor will continue to lead the line, having scored 33 goals in 32 competitive matches since joining Barcelona from the German club last summer.
Wolfsburg Women possible starting lineup:
Borbe; Dijkstra, Minge, Linder; Wilms, Huth, Lattwein, Brand; Endemann, Beerensteyn; Popp
Barcelona Women possible starting lineup:
Coll; Batlle, Engen, Leon, Brugts; Bonmati, Guijarro, Putellas; Graham Hansen, Paralluelo, Pajor
We say: Wolfsburg Women 1-3 Barcelona Women
Barcelona will head to Germany in a confident mood after winning each of their last nine competitive matches, and we think they will showcase their firepower to claim a first-leg victory and condemn Wolfsburg to their first home defeat since October.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
