Roma vs Barcelona Women's Champions League preview: Where to watch, line-ups

Roma and Barcelona meet in the UEFA Wonen's Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday 21 March at Stadio Olimpico.

What do you need to know

Having got through the group stage in some comfort on debut, Roma's reward is to face a Barcelona team looking as awesome as ever, aiming to reach a fourth final in five years and win back the trophy Lyon snatched last May in Turin. Roma did hold Wolfsburg at home in their group, at a time when the German side were on free-scoring form, and do boast two players more than familiar with the Blaugrana: striker Andressa Alves and new signing Vicky Losada, who could fairly be described as a Barcelona legend.

But then Barcelona are hardly short of star power: they proved that by scoring 29 goals in their six group games despite the season-long absence of 2021/22 player of the tournament Alexia Putellas. And with their experience of competition-record crowds at the Camp Nou (which will indeed host the second leg), they will not be intimidated as Roma stage a major women's fixture at Stadio Olimpico for the first time, with over 35,000 tickets reported to have been sold, potentially more than doubling the previo

Form guide

Roma
Last six games (most recent result first): WWLWWW
Last match: Fiorentina 1-5 Roma, 17/03
Where they stand: 1st in Serie A, Coppa Italia final

Barcelona
Last six games: WWWWWW
Last match: Barcelona 5-1 Valencia, 17/03
Where they stand: 1st in Spanish Liga

Squad changes

Roma
In: Lucia di Guglielmo, Vicky Losada, Alva Selerud
Out: Mina Bergersen, Anastasia Ferrara, Nina Kajzba, Paloma Lázaro

Barcelona
In: Giulia Dragoni
Out: Ona Baradad, Laura Coronado, Esther Laborde

Starting line-ups

Roma: Ceasar; Bartoli, Wenninger, Linari, Minami; Serturini, Giugliano, Greggi, Haavi; Andressa Alves, Giacinti

Barcelona: Paños; Bronze, Paredes, León, Rolfö; Bonmatí, Walsh, Guijarro; Graham Hansen, Oshoala, Paralluelo

View from the camps

Alessandro Spugna, Roma coach: "We are facing a huge team. It will be a great occasion, a great experience, and it will be a big boost for women's football in Italy and us as a squad.

"There's a bit of tension, but it's a tension that we like, because that means it's an important game. Barcelona have crazy, incredible numbers. I've seen a lot of Barcelona games, even before this tie because they are a team I like a lot, and the more I've seen them, the fewer weak points I've found."

Elisa Bartoli, Roma defender: "It is wonderful that so many people can come to the stadium. It is a big step: finally, after five years, we managed to drag all these people to the Stadio Olimpico. What we can promise is that we are going to give everything and we are going to leave our hearts on the pitch."

Jonatan Giráldez, Barcelona coach: "We've seen a lot of Roma games, formations and situations. They tend to have more possession than their opponents, but know how to defend at different levels. We tend to have the initiative; it will be very important to deal with the pressure Roma put on us.

"If you're in the quarter-finals, it's because you're one of the best eight teams in Europe. Roma have done enough to be where they are today."

Salma Paralluelo, Barcelona winger: "It's my first Champions League, my first quarter-final. I want tomorrow's game to come, because it will be very beautiful.

"It's a privilege to see these games in these stadiums. We all know that we have to take these small steps to reach equality, so I'm happy about what is going to happen."

Where is the 2023 UEFA Women's Champions League final being played?

UEFA

Eindhoven's PSV Stadium will stage the 2023 UEFA Women's Champions League final at 16:00 CET on Saturday 3 June.

First opened in 1910, the 35,000-capacity PSV Stadium has a long history of hosting major matches, including the UEFA Cup finals of 1978 (second leg) and 2006, the second leg of the 1988 UEFA Super Cup and three games at UEFA EURO 2000.

On 6 April 2018, 30,238 fans at the home of PSV Eindhoven watched the Netherlands beat Northern Ireland on the way to the FIFA Women's World Cup, a record crowd for any UEFA-organised women's qualifier. On 1 June 2019, a then Dutch record women's football attendance of 30,640 saw the Netherlands face Australia in a friendly at the stadium.