We are close to knowing the four semi-finalists in the 2023/24 Women’s Champions League and one of these two teams is going to progress to the last four of the competition.
The Champions League quarter-final, second leg between Barcelona Women and SK Brann Women will be played on the 28th of March at the Johan Cruyff Stadium.
Barcelona lead 2-1 from the first leg in Norway. The hosts are currently top of the Primera Division Femenina in Spain and the visitors are 9th in the Toppserien in Norway having played only one fixture.
Klar for Barcelona 😎 #UWCL pic.twitter.com/tx1ymflaUT— SK Brann Kvinner (@skbrannkvinner) March 25, 2024
Klar for Barcelona 😎 #UWCL pic.twitter.com/tx1ymflaUT
Barcelona come into the game on the back of a convincing 3-0 win at Real Madrid in the Primera Division Femenina on the weekend.
Barcelona opened the scoring against their rivals in the 10th minute and led 1-0 at half time. Into the second half and Barcelona doubled their advantage in the 55th minute and scored their third goal 12 minutes later.
The win over Real Madrid was the 7th successive victory for Barcelona in all competitions. The additional wins have come over Atletico Madrid and UD Tenerife at home plus Real Sociedad away in the domestic league, Athletic Club home and away in the Copa de la Reina, and SK Brann away in the first leg of this Champions League tie.
Trends show no defeats can be found in Barcelona's 14 most recent games in the Champions League Women. They have won 8 of their last 9 home Champions League matches, keeping 6 clean sheets.
SK Brann Women make the trip to the Johan Cruyff Stadium having last played in the first leg of this tie which ended in a 2-1 home defeat.
It took only 9 minutes for Barcelona to open the scoring but SK Brann did well to stay in the game and equalise in the 39th minute. Into the second half and Barcelona scored the winning goal in the 72nd minute.
The defeat to Barcelona means SK Brann have failed to win any of their last 3 fixtures in all competitions. There was a 4-2 loss at Lillestrom in the Toppserien and a 1-1 draw in a friendly against Granada.
The stats show SK Brann are undefeated in 9 of their 11 most recent Champions League games. However, they have won only 2 of their last 5 matches in the competition.
Team news and Barcelona are expected to start with Salma Paralluelo and Graham Hansen in attack. Aitana Bonmatí and Keira Walsh will operate in midfield.
SK Brann are not expected to make many changes from the first leg, with Amalie Eikeland possibly starting in attack in place of Rakel Engesvik.
Barcelona Women are in an advantageous position thanks to their victory in the first leg and should have too much for the Norwegian visitors.
We expect to see Barcelona score plenty of goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to a comfortable victory and a place in the semi-final.