Barcelona vs Chelsea Women's Champions League preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, starting line-ups

Chelsea and Barcelona meet in their UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final second leg on Thursday 27 April at the Camp Nou.

What do you need to know?

Barcelona take a 1-0 lead to the Camp Nou thanks to Caroline Graham Hansen's superb fourth-minute goal at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Chelsea recovered quickly to ensure no repeat of their 4-0 defeat by Barcelona in the 2021 final, when all the goals came well before half-time. Even so, the dominant visitors could have added to their advantage in London and there was relief from Emma Hayes' side that the tie remains alive going into this return.

Another massive crowd is expected at the Camp Nou, where a record 91,648 watched last season's semi-final between Barcelona and Wolfsburg. And since the Blaugrana have scored 24 goals in their five previous European matches at the stadium over the last couple of seasons, Chelsea are under no illusions as to the scale of their task.

Pernille Harder's comeback on Saturday after five months out gives them hope, while Barcelona have Asisat Oshoala available to start after the Nigeria forward was only fit enough for a substitute's role, Geyse leading the line in London. Alexia Putellas is on the bench and might make her first appearance of the season following her ACL injury in July, having played a full part in Wednesday training. Lucy Bronze has been ruled out after keyhole surgery on a knee problem.

Chelsea are again injured centre-backs Millie Bright and Kadeisha Buchanan. Lauren James is, just as on Saturday, left out the starting line-up for tactical reasons, though came on in the second half when Chelsea switched away from their original 3-4-1-2 formation.

Form guide

Barcelona
Last six games (most recent result first): WWWWWW
Last match: Chelsea 0-1 Barcelona, 22/04 (UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final first leg)
Where they stand: 1st in Spanish Liga

Chelsea
Last six games (most recent result first): LWWLLW
Last match: Chelsea 0-1 Barcelona, 22/04 (UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final first leg)
Where they stand: 3rd in Women's Super League, FA Cup final

Starting line-ups

Barcelona: Paños; Torrejón, Paredes, León, Rolfö; Bonmatí, Walsh, Guijarro; Graham Hansen, Oshoala, Caldentey

Chelsea: Berger; Mjelde, Eriksson, Carter; Périsset, Cuthbert, Leupolz, Charles; Fleming; Kerr, Reiten

View from the camps

Jonatan Giráldez, Barcelona coach: "If people think that we've already qualified, it's understandable, but as a coach I've made no mention of Sunday [the chance to clinch the Spanish title against Sporting de Huelva] or the [Women's Champions League] final. I show the players what to improve. We must forget the first leg and go out to win.

"[Bronze] has a strain, an ailment. It’s a tiny intervention, just a couple of weeks ... Alexia Putellas has a chance to make the squad, but there is still [Wednesday] training and we have to assess very carefully what to do so that when she returns, she returns well. We will not take any risk with Alexia. The priority is to qualify for the final. As a coach I will not take any risk if she is not 100%."

Aitana Bonmatí, Barcelona midfielder: "It would be great to reach our fourth Champions League final in front of our own fans at Camp Nou. But we can't get ahead of ourselves. We have a small advantage, but we are going out to win, regardless.

"We are waiting impatiently for Alexia's return, but everyone knows how important the game is to be able to reach our fourth final."

Emna Hayes, Chelsea manager: "This what we work for, we work to be in these positions. We know it's going to be a quick pitch, a big pitch, We know they are going to dominate the ball. For us, we know the areas we have to improve on to get opportunities, and I think we have players capable of doing that.

"But you have to suffer, and you suffer more against Barcelona than against anybody else. For us as a team, I think we showed in the previous game we can defend, and we are going to have to do it at an even higher level."

Magdalena Erilksson, Chelsea defender: "I went to Camp Nou when I was 13, in fact I saw Barcelona against Chelsea. It will be nice, but in terms of the game I have to treat it as any other match.

"Oshoala or Geyse? They are two great players with two different styles. It will be difficult no matter who plays."

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.