UEFA Women's Champions League: Players to watch in the semi-final second legs

With the UEFA Women's Champions League semi-finals set to conclude, we look at a player from each team who could prove crucial in securing their side a place in the Eindhoven final.

Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona)

Caroline Graham Hansen captured the headlines with her spectacular early winner in Barcelona's 1-0 first-leg win at Chelsea, but 19-year-old Paralluelo also starred at Stamford Bridge, constantly harassing the home side down the left flank. As befits someone who was an international hurdles athlete, Paralluelo is one of the fastest sprinters in the competition. And a world and European champion at youth level with Spain, she has the ball skills and finishing to match.

Into doubles figures for goals in her first season since joining Barcelona, not least the winner against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in the quarter-finals, Paralluelo now has the chance to open her Camp Nou account when Chelsea visit on Thursday.

Guro Reiten (Chelsea)

Of course, Chelsea have other ideas about that second leg as they look to turn the tie around. During the first half in London, the front-two combination of Reiten and Sam Kerr in a changed Blues formation so nearly cancelled out Graham Hansen's goal. Along with Lauren James, they should be the key in the return.

Kerr and James grab plenty of headlines, but Reiten is just as consistent a performer, and it was her goal that earned the 1-0 quarter-final win away to holders Lyon which proved invaluable to Chelsea's progress. Could it be that the Norwegian hero of this tie won't prove to be Graham Hansen but Reiten instead?

Jen Beattie (Arsenal)

Arsenal's long injury list looked to have been their undoing in their first semi-final for a decade as they went 2-0 down early on at Wolfsburg on Sunday. However, the Gunners responded well and take a 2-2 scoreline to Arsenal Stadium next Monday, with Beattie – the Player of the Match in Germany – having showed all her leadership qualities and experience, dominating in the air.

Beattie took part in both legs when Wolfsburg knocked out Arsenal in the 2012/13 semis, back when she was primarily a forward rather than a central defender. An inspirational presence after her recovery from cancer, she is not a regular starter these days, but she took over from the injured Leah Williamson at Wolfsburg and demonstrated how much she still has to give.

Jill Roord (Wolfsburg)

Last year, former Arsenal player Roord broke her old club's heart with a second-leg goal to help Wolfsburg claim victory in the quarter-finals. She also struck in both semi-final matches against Barcelona as Wolfsburg then fell short, and while Roord was not on target at home to Arsenal this time – despite threatening to make it 3-2 – the Netherlands midfielder has a big role to play as her club aim to reach Eindhoven.

That goes beyond her ability to find the net as Roord may well continue in the central-midfield role she performed alongside Lena Oberdorf in the first leg, with Lena Lattwein out injured. But whether she is holding the midfield, deployed wide or tasked with supporting striker Ewa Pajor, Roord will be important to Wolfsburg's ambitions.