Wolfsburg Women will have to produce an almighty comeback if they are to reach the Women's Champions League final.
Barcelona Women will travel to Germany for Saturday's semi-final second leg with a healthy 5-1 advantage, as the Catalan giants edge closer to retaining their European crown.
Match preview
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A 12-game unbeaten run was ended last weekend, as Wolfsburg were thrashed in front of over 90,000 people at Camp Nou.
The hosts know that they will have to produce a special performance if they are to reach a fifth Champions League final.
Their most recent home Frauen-Bundesliga result may offer inspiration, as Wolfsburg eased past their domestic rivals Bayern Munich by a 6-0 scoreline.
The two-time European champions have had a week to prepare for the second leg, with Wolfsburg aiming to break Barcelona's 100% record for the season.
Not only do they have to beat the defending Champions League winners, but the hosts also have to win by at least four goals to send the tie to extra time, which is a feat that they have achieved on eight occasions this season.
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Barcelona will feel that they have completed the hard yards in the semi-final tie as they head to Germany to finish the job.
The first leg victory was played in front of 91,648 people, breaking the record for the highest attendance at an official Women's match, with the previous record set in the first leg of Barcelona's quarter-final tie with Real Madrid.
Those in attendance at Camp Nou last Saturday saw the hosts race into a four-goal lead within 38 minutes, with Aitana Bonmati, Caroline Graham Hansen, Jenifer Hermoso and Alexis Putellas all finding the net in the first half.
Jill Roord pulled one back for Wolfsburg in the 70th minute, but Putellas struck from the spot five minutes from time to complete an impressive victory.
Not only are Barcelona aiming to keep their 100% record in all competitions intact for the season, but if they can progress from the last four then they will compete in a third consecutive Champions League final.
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Team News
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Lena Oberdorf missed the first leg for Wolfsburg due to a knee problem, and the 20-year-old is expected to remain unavailable for Saturday's contest.
The hosts are also set to be without the services of Rebecka Blomqvist, who picked up an injury at Camp Nou.
Tabea Wassmuth will be integral to Wolfsburg if they are to trouble Barcelona on Saturday, with the Germany international looking to add to the nine Champions League goals that she has scored this season.
As for Barcelona, Patricia Guijarro returned from injury to start in the first leg, and the 23-year-old is set to feature in a midfield three alongside Bonmati and Putellas.
Claudia Pina, Asisat Oshoala and Mariona Caldentey featured as second-half substitutes in the 5-1 victory after recovering from their respective injury issues, and they may all have to settle for places on the bench in Germany, with Jonatan Giraldez set to name an unchanged lineup.
Putellas became the leading scorer in this season's Champions League with her brace last weekend, and the Barcelona star has the chance to add to her 10-goal European tally on Saturday.
Wolfsburg Women possible starting lineup:
Schult; Wedemeyer, Hendrich, Janssen, Rauch; Lattwein, Roord; Jonsdottir, Huth, Popp; Wassmuth
Barcelona Women possible starting lineup:
Panos; Torrejon, Paredes, Leon, Rolfo; Bonmati, Guijarro, Putellas; Hansen, Crnogorcevic, Hermoso
We say: Wolfsburg Women 1-4 Barcelona Women
Wolfsburg know that they will have to score a flurry of goals to trouble Barcelona, but with the hosts having to adopt an attacking approach, we think that could play into the hands of the European champions, and we expect the visitors to clinch another comfortable victory on Saturday.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Wolfsburg Women win with a probability of 42.34%. A win for Barcelona Women had a probability of 36.13% and a draw had a probability of 21.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Wolfsburg Women win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.13%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-1 (5.23%) and 1-0 (4.75%). The likeliest Barcelona Women win was 1-2 (7.48%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (8.42%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 4.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Wolfsburg Women would win this match.
