Wolfsburg vs Barcelona facts

Two-time UEFA Women's Champions League winners Wolfsburg welcome holders Barcelona, who claimed the trophy at their expense in 2023, in the first leg of their quarter-final tie.

This season Wolfsburg were second in Group A behind Lyon, finishing ahead of Roma on head-to-head record, while Barcelona were first in Group D by the same metric after accumulating the same number of points (15) as Manchester City.

Previous meetings

2022/23 final
Barcelona 3-2 Wolfsburg
Ewa Pajor (3) and Alexandra Popp (37) gave Wolfsburg a two-goal advantage at the break in Eindhoven, only for Barcelona to launch a thrilling second-half comeback. Patri Guijarro's quick double (48, 50) restored parity before Fridolina Rolfö's 70th-minute winner sealed a second European title for a Barça side managed by Jonatan Giráldez.

2021/22 semi-finals
Barcelona 5-1 Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg 2-0 Barcelona
Barcelona took command of the tie as Aitana Bonmatí, Caroline Graham Hansen, Jenni Hermoso and Alexia Putellas (2) earned a first-leg victory in Spain. Goals from Tabea Sellner and Jill Roord – who had also struck in the first leg – reduced the arrears in the second leg, but the Spanish side held on.

2019/20 semi-finals
Wolfsburg 1-0 Barcelona
Rolfö's 58th-minute goal was enough to separate the sides in a one-off match in San Sebastian.

2013/14 quarter-finals
Wolfsburg 3-0 Barcelona
Barcelona 0-2 Wolfsburg
En route to their second successive European title, Nadine Kessler, Martina Müller and Zsanett Jakabfi secured a first-leg victory for Wolfsburg in what was the teams' first meeting. Kessler and Müller were also on target in Spain a week later.

Form guide

Wolfsburg

Record vs Spanish clubs W8 D0 L2 F36 A10
Home record vs Spanish clubs W4 D0 L0

Apart from their six games with Barcelona, Wolfsburg have faced Atlético de Madrid on four occasions in the Women's Champions League, winning all four; they triumphed 15-2 on aggregate in the 2017/18 round of 32 (3-0 a, 12-2 h) and won 10-0 on aggregate in the round of 16 the following season (4-0 h, 6-0 a).

Wolfsburg won their first seven matches against Spanish sides, but have lost two of their last three (W1).

The German side have won all four home games against Spanish visitors, scoring 21 goals and conceding just twice.

Sveindís Jónsdóttir, who struck all four of her goals as a substitute on Matchday 5, was level with Popp as Wolfsburg's top scorer in the group stage.

Wolfsburg's three group wins came consecutively; home and away against Galatasaray (5-0 a, 5-0 h) and at home to Roma (6-1). They lost away to Roma (0-1) and twice to Lyon (0-2 h, 0-1 a).

Champions in 2013 and 2014, Wolfsburg lost in round 2 to Paris FC (3-3 a, 0-2 h) last season.

That defeat ended Wolfsburg's run of reaching the quarter-finals or better in a record 11 consecutive seasons. They progressed to the semi-finals or better on eight of those occasions, their three last-eight eliminations coming against eventual champions Lyon in both 2016/17 (0-2 h, 1-0 a) and 2018/19 (1-2 a, 2-4 h), and also Chelsea in 2020/21 (1-2 a, 0-3 h).

Wolfsburg's back-to-back European titles came courtesy of final victories against Lyon in 2013 (1-0) and Tyresö 12 months later (4-3).

They have reached the final on four further occasions, most recently that defeat by Barcelona in 2023.

The She-Wolves progressed to this season's group stage with victory against Fiorentina in round 2 (7-0 a, 5-0 h), Popp scoring a hat-trick in the first leg in Italy on 18 September.

Popp has scored in four separate Women's Champions League finals – a record she shares with Lyon's Ada Hegerberg.

Wolfsburg have won ten of their 12 home games in all competitions this season (D1 L1), their only defeat against Lyon on Matchday 2.

Wolfsburg claimed a record-extending 11th DFB-Pokal Frauen title last season, beating Bayern München 2-0 in the final on 9 May, and finished second in the Women's Bundesliga.

Barcelona

Record vs German clubs W9 D0 L5 F28 A15
Away record vs German clubs W3 D0 L3

Barcelona last faced German opposition in last season’s group stage, when they won 3-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt before a 2-0 home success. They have now won their last three games against German teams, since a 1-3 defeat at Bayern in the 2022/23 group stage.

Barcelona have lost two of their last three games in Germany (W1).

The Spanish side's only group stage defeat this season was a 0-2 reverse at Manchester City on Matchday 1. They won their subsequent five games, beating Hammarby (9-0 h, 3-0 a), and St. Pölten (7-0 h, 4-1 a) before a 3-0 defeat of City.

Barcelona have scored seven goals in their two away victories since defeat at City.

Pajor and Clàudia Pina both scored five goals during the group stage.

Barcelona are in the quarter-finals for the tenth successive season. They have won their last six ties, since exiting against Lyon at this stage of the competition in 2017/18.

Barcelona retained the trophy by defeating eight-time winners Lyon 2-0 in last season's final in Bilbao, goals from Bonmatí (63) and Putellas (90+5) sealing the Spanish side's their third title.

It was their second in succession after that 2023 victory over Wolfsburg; their first title came with a 4-0 win against Chelsea in 2021.

Barcelona have reached the final in five of the past six seasons, losing to Lyon in 2019 (1-4) and 2022 (1-3) in addition to their three triumphs.

Barcelona also won three domestic trophies in 2024. In January they lifted the Supercopa de España Femenina before claiming a record-extending ninth Liga F title in a dominant league campaign consisting of 29 wins, one draw and no defeats. They clinched their tenth Copa de la Reina – also a record – with an 8-0 final victory against Real Sociedad.

In charge since 2021, Giráldez departed as head coach after last season's Champions League triumph; he was succeeded by assistant Pere Romeu.

Key facts

• Wolfsburg have lost only two of their previous nine home quarter-final matches (W5 D2).

• The German side have suffered only three defeats in their last 20 home European games (W14 D3).

• Barcelona have won ten of their last 11 quarter-final matches (L1).

• The Spanish side have won their last 16 two-legged European ties.

• Barça have lost only two of their last 24 Champions League matches (W20 D2).