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

Barcelona and Chelsea meet in the UEFA Women's Champions League semi-final first leg on Sunday 20 April at Estadi Johan Cruyff.

What do you need to know?

For the first time in tournament history, the same teams meet in the semi-final for the third season running (though Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain have faced off at this stage four times overall). While Barcelona's wins against Chelsea in those semis were not as comprehensive as their 2021 final victory in Gothenburg that sealed their first title, they both featured victories at Stamford Bridge, last year overturning a deficit from the opening leg, and were soon followed by their second and third trophy lifts.

Getting to Lisbon for a shot at another final win will be far from straightforward for Barcelona, and not just because unlike in the two previous last-four encounter, Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh will be in the Chelsea squad rather than the Blaugrana line-up. Chelsea have shown a Barcelona-like belief in sweeping all before them this season, summed up by the incredible second-leg first-half display that turned their quarter-final tie with Man City, and they now have in charge the only coach to have stopped the Blaugrana in this competition in the last four years, Sonia Bompastor, who led Lyon to victory in the 2022 Turin final.

Quadruple-chasing Chelsea reached the Women's FA Cup final at Wembley last weekend in dramatic style, although Lauren James returned injured from international duty with Sam Kerr still out but Guro Reiten is now available and Bompastor suggested Naomi Girma could be involved on Sunday. Caroline Graham Hansen did not train for Barcelona on Saturday due to illness.

Both teams have a depth of attacking talent in particular that give their coaches a wealth of options for the starting XI and substitutions, with Chelsea's summer full-back arrivals Bronze and Sandy Baltimore adding a new dimension to their play as Bompastor has built on Emma Hayes' legacy. But Barcelona have won their last 17 two-legged Champions League ties, Pere Romeu now the fourth coach to keep that run going since a 2018 quarter-final reverse against Lyon, and they have now beaten a long-standing OL record by reaching the semis for the seventh straight year, and hope to equal another by getting to a fifth final in a row.

Form guide

Barcelona
Last six games: WWWWLW
Last match: Barcelona 5-1 Sevilla, 16/04, Liga F
Where they stand: 1st in Liga F, Copa de la Reina final

Chelsea
Last six games: WDWWLW
Last match: Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool, 12/04, Women's FA Cup semi-final
Where they stand: 1st in Women's Super League, Women's FA Cup final, Women's League Cup winners

Starting line-ups

Barcelona: Cata Coll; Batlle, Paredes, Mapi León, Brugts; Aitana, Patri Guijarro, Alexia Putellas; Graham Hansen, Pajor, Paralluelo

Chelsea: Hampton; Bronze, Björn, Bright, Baltimore; Walsh, Cuthbert; Rytting Kaneryd, Kaptein, Beever-Jones; Ramírez

View from the camps

Pere Romeu, Barcelona coach: "I think it’s going to be a really tough tie. I think Chelsea are a team who feel comfortable attacking at pace. They feel comfortable attacking on the flanks with players who get past their marker and they get numbers in the box. They feel comfortable out of possession. They’re great at winning the ball back infield and hitting teams on the counter with Mayra [Ramírez] and others who are great at carrying the ball forward and who attack space well.

"I think this means we’ll have a knockout that’ll feel long, a tie in which we’ll try and play well out of possession, to try and win the ball back and hit Chelsea on the counter, and when in possession we’ll try and attack quickly and try and get down the flanks quickly. I think it’ll be a tough and difficult tie."

Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea coach: "Barcelona have a lot of experience, a lot of talent in the squad I was watching before our [quarter-final second leg against Man City], their game against Wolfsburg, it will be again a tough challenge. But in football everything is possible. So I will bring all the confidence we need to go into those two games.

"It's a huge game. We are really excited. We've had all week to prepare for the match, which was really good to work on the gameplan. We feel ready to go. Really excited. We are playing one of the best teams, if not the best team, in Europe. As players, but also as managers, we want to be involved in these games."

Caroline Graham Hansen, Barcelona forward: "We're looking forward to it. It will be really great. This is where we wanted to be when the season started, and from now on, anything can happen. Either we’ll win or we won’t, but we are where we want to be and we are excited about being able to compete about being in the final, so it will be exciting.

"[Chelsea] are a tough team, with physical capabilities. They are rich in quality in every position. It’s a hard match for us, but they will feel the same, so it’s fun to play against them."

Aitana Bonmatí, Barcelona midfielder: "It's these games that make us great and that show us the level we are at and where we want to get to. I think we're in a good moment but we know who we're up against, and we know it won't be easy."

Millie Bright, Chelsea defender: "Everyone knows we are extremely competitive and want to win every single game, but these are the special occasions. A Champions League semi-final, playing one of the best, if not the best, team. As a player these are the games you relish and thrive in. We're absolutely ready and the girls are raring to go."

Where is the 2025 UEFA Women's Champions League final being played?

Getty Images

Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon will stage the 2025 UEFA Women's Champions League final on Saturday 24 May.

The home of Sporting CP opened in 2003 ahead of UEFA EURO 2004 in Portugal, replacing another stadium of the same name. It hosted a semi-final of that tournament, among other games, and was the venue for the UEFA Cup decider the following year.

The 2025 final will be the second Women's Champions League showpiece to be held in Lisbon after 2014, when Estádio do Restelo staged Wolfsburg's 4-3 win against Tyresö.