Duisburg and Potsdam prepared for struggle

A year on from their epic UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final, FCR 2001 Duisburg and holders 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam are matched at this stage again and another tight affair seems certain.

Last season, reigning European champions Duisburg beat their German rivals 1-0 at home only for Potsdam to reverse the scoreline in the return and win on penalties on their way to a second continental title. Again the first leg is at Duisburg's PCC Stadion on Saturday and home captain Inka Grings – the tournament's ten-goal top scorer – knows it will be tough facing the side that beat them to the 2011 title.

"No team are the better side," the Germany striker said. "This is a 50-50 match in which form on the day will be decisive. We botched it [last year] and now want to do better. There will be at least 11 internationals on the pitch. These two sides and 1. FFC Frankfurt are the best the Frauen-Bundesliga has to offer. The fans can look forward to an exciting match."

In the league, Potsdam won 1-0 at home and drew 1-1 at Duisburg, who ended up third – meaning they need to win this competition to return to Europe next term. More than 2,000 tickets have already been sold for Saturday's game, both legs will be televised live and Duisburg talk of having handed out "more accreditations to journalists than ever before".

Except for long-term injured goalkeeper Ursula Holl, who will again be replaced by Christina Bellinghoven, and suspended midfielder Simone Laudehr, Duisburg coach Marco Ketelaer can rely on his full squad. "Everyone is extremely focused, everyone desperately wants to go to London for the final," he said. "We promise the fans to do everything we can."

Potsdam coach Bernd Schröder accepts that his team may be the favourites to most, yet the canny veteran does not want to hear of it and is not sure what omen last year's meeting signifies. "We cannot say if it is good or bad," Schröder mused. "It will be a difficult tie. We can't be as lucky twice as we were last year."

Turbine's last competitive match was on 26 March and ended with a rare 2-1 defeat by arch-rivals Frankfurt in the German Cup final. "We don't know where we are at," Schröder said. "It depends how we find our way into the game. Form on the day will be decisive."

Visiting striker Isabel Kerschowski, who scored twice in the 6-2 win at FCF Juvisy Essonne in the quarter-final second leg, also has a lot of respect for Duisburg – and especially Grings. "They play aggressively and have good players in their ranks," the 23-year-old said. "Most of all Inka Grings, who is always capable of scoring."