UEFA Women's Champions League: Players to watch on Matchday 4

Wednesday and Thursday's UEFA Women's Champions League group games could confirm some teams as through or out. We focus on four goalkeepers with critical roles to play.

Camelia Ceasar (Roma)

It was never going to be straightforward for Roma to match their debut run to the quarter-finals last year with Bayern and Paris Saint-Germain in their group, and has been made no easier by Ajax proving themselves equal to that company. Roma, having lost at Paris on Thursday, go into Wednesday's home return a point ahead of their opponents, level with Ajax and one behind Bayern.

Keeping out Paris's stellar forward line is not easy but Romania goalkeeper Cesar has been an important part of Roma's rise to prominence and kept a clean sheet in their previous home group game, the 3-0 win against Ajax, as well as in two of their three last season. In July, Roma gave Cesar a new three-year deal and she is approaching 100 games for the club.

Chiamaka Nnadozie (Paris FC)

Nnadozie became the youngest goalkeeper to keep a FIFA Women's World Cup clean sheet in 2019. But it was in this summer's tournament that she truly made her name with a string of fine performances including three more clean sheets as Nigeria reached the round of 16, only losing on penalties against England.

The following month Nnadozie helped Paris FC knock out Arsenal on spot kicks in the round 1 final of the Champions League. After getting past Wolfsburg, they are now up and running in the group stage following the 2-1 win against Real Madrid, Nnadozie saving a penalty to help earn a crucial result for the club that took her to Europe in 2020. Named African Goalkeeper of the Year this month, Nnadozie, like PFC themselves, has enhanced her profile of late, and could bolster that further in Madrid on Wednesday.

Lena Pauels (Benfica)

Benfica beat four-time champions Frankfurt on Matchday 3 and a repeat win in Germany would take the Eagles into their first quarter-final at their hosts' expense. And it is a German who could seal Frankfurt's downfall.

Pauels joined Benfica from Werder Bremen in the summer and has established herself as a starter. She lost all her meetings with Frankfurt, several quite heavily, while at Bremen but it was a different story in Lisbon as she helped her side to an invaluable 1-0 win, making some crucial saves. Frankfurt are vowing to turn up the pressure on Thursday but Pauels will be ready.

Carina Schlüter (St. Pölten)

St. Pölten were hoping for better than a 0-0 draw at home to Slavia Praha on Matchday 3 as they looked to stay in touch with Group B leading pair Lyon and Brann, but that the Austrian side got their first point at all was down in no small measure to their own German goalkeeper, Schlüter.

Signed in 2022 from Leipzig, the former Bayern keeper produced a string of excellent stops to prevent Slavia taking a victory back to Prague, where the teams meet again on Thursday. Schlüter also had a very good game in the narrow 2-0 loss at Lyon, and success has been hard earned by the 27-year-old, who combines playing with studying medicine and bravely spoke out about her struggle with depression, which led her to take a break from football while at Leipzig.