Preview: Barcelona Women vs Paris Women - prediction, team news, lineups

Barcelona Women will kick off the defence of their Women's Champions League crown when they take on Paris Women at the Estadi Johan Cruyff on Wednesday.

The Blaugrana will view a fifth European title as their main objective, while Paris FC's main objective will be to reach the league phase for a second consecutive season.

Match preview

Barcelona find themselves in a familiar position as the reigning European champions after winning their third UWCL trophy in four seasons in May's final in Norway.

While they may have thrashed OL Lyonnes 4-0 for their fourth UWCL crown, the match also marked the end of an era, as Alexia Putellas and Mapi Leon made their final European outing for the Blaugrana.

The pair have since started a new adventure with London City Lionesses, while Ona Batlle and Salma Paralluelo joined Arsenal and OL Lyonnes respectively.

Those notable departures have not stopped Pere Romeu's side from starting their domestic season with four consecutive victories in Liga F by a combined 19-2 scoreline.

Their toughest test of the season so far came in a 4-2 win against Atletico Madrid on matchday three, before they made much easier work of it in Friday's resounding 6-0 victory against Deportivo Alaves, leaving them two points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table.

Barcelona will expect to continue their winning run on Wednesday, especially as they have won each of their last 10 home matches in the UWCL, scoring at least three goals in each of those victories.

Paris FC are set to make their third main draw appearance in four seasons after securing direct entry to the league phase via their second-place finish in the Premiere Ligue last term.

After finishing in second spot in the regular season, Paris FC squeezed past their city rivals Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals of the playoffs before they fell to a heavy 5-0 defeat against perennial champions OL Lyonnes in the final.

They experienced another tough outing against the reigning French champions on matchday two of the new season, conceding five second-half goals in a 7-1 away loss.

Sandrine Soubeyrand's charges showed great character to bounce back with a 2-0 victory in Friday's away meeting with Strasbourg, making it two wins from their first three games of the domestic season.

Paris will face Barcelona and Arsenal in their first two UWCL matches before they return to league action at the start of next month, knowing that any points will be a bonus against such tough opposition before their final four league phase games against Hacken, Real Madrid, Koge and Servette.

Wednesday's fixture represents Paris' first European away game against Barcelona, although they did face the Blaugrana on home turf in last season's league phase, falling to a 2-0 defeat in what was a spirited display from the Parisiens.

Barcelona Women form (all competitions):

W W W W

Paris Women form (all competitions):

W L W

Team News

Barcelona are expected to be without the defensive duo of Irene Paredes and Renee van Asten, who have missed the last two matches with muscle injuries.

As a result, the Blaugrana could line up with Martin Fernandez and Marta Torrejon, although there is an option for Guijarro to drop into the backline as was the case in the win against Atletico earlier this month.

Esmee Brugts, Kika Nazareth and Claudia Pina are all set to return to the starting lineup after dropping down to the bench at the weekend.

As for the visitors, they remain without midfielder Daphne Corboz, who is continuing to work her way back from a long-term knee injury.

Hillary Diaz could return to the backline after dropping down to the bench for the recent league win over Strasbourg.

There may also be a spot for Oceane Picard if Soubeyrand wants to add an extra player in the middle of the park in an attempt to disrupt Barcelona’s midfield trio.

Barcelona Women possible starting lineup:

Coll; Schertenleib, Fernandez, Torrejon, Brugts; Lopez, Guijarro, Nazareth; Graham, Pina, Pajor

Paris Women possible starting lineup:

Chavas; N’Dongala, Diaz, Hocine, Baquerizo; Toloba, Le Moguedec, Picard, Korosec, Mateo; Viens

We say: Barcelona Women 4-1 Paris Women

Paris's 7-1 win to Lyon earlier this month suggests that Wednesday's clash against the European champions could prove to be a long night.

While Barcelona may not reach seven, we still think they will put in a free-scoring display to ease to maximum points on matchday one of the league phase.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.