Barca slim favourites for Champions League but Wolfsburg have history on their side

LONDON : Barcelona will be aiming to clinch their second Women's Champions League title in three years on Saturday, but will be up against a steely VfL Wolfsburg side desperate to get their hands on a trophy they last won in 2014.

There is no doubting the quality in the Spanish side who successfully defended their league title this season with 28 wins, one draw and one defeat which came in the final game.

They also will be boosted by the presence of two-times Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas. The Spain midfielder made her long awaited return to action at the end of April after recovering from an ACL injury suffered last year.

"I'm lucky enough to live close to Alexia and be able to learn from her every day. Just watching her, seeing what she transmits to you in training makes you learn and become a better player," team mate Claudia Pina told Reuters in a Zoom interview.

"I've always noticed her because she scores a lot of goals. She's a special and different kind of player," added the 21-year-old forward, who came on in the final last year which Barca lost 3-1 to record eight-times champions Olympique Lyonnais.

But it's Wolfsburg who boast the top scorer in the competition this season - Polish forward Ewa Pajor with eight.

The 26-year-old has reached the final with the German side on three occasions (2016, 2018, 2020) but only has three runners-up medals to show for it.

Those heartbreaking losses, all to Lyon, give her further motivation to fire her team to glory at Eindhoven's PSV Stadion.

"It will definitely help me prepare – me and our team, because I will want to share this with the girls ahead of the final," Pajor told Reuters.

Despite narrowly missing out on the Bundesliga this season to Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg have a