Barcelona Women look to put one foot in Champions League final

They have never played a game like this before. The reason is simple: this is the first time that a team from Spain have graced the semi-finals of the Women's Champions League. As such, when the ladies in blue and scarlet take to the pitch this Saturday, 22 April, at 18:00 CET, they will write their names in Spanish football history. They will do so against a Paris Saint-Germain side featuring a certain Vero Boquete and Irene Paredes, with the ultimate prize – a place in the Champions League final – up for grabs.

This is a repeat of last year's quarter-final tie, in which PSG prevailed courtesy of a solitary goal in the latter stages of the second leg in Paris, a game in which Sandra Paños cemented her status as one of Europe's best goalkeepers. Like this term, the first leg on that occasion was held in the Catalan capital, with the Miniestadi registering a new highest attendance of 8,369. Barça expect to smash that record this weekend, with all the tickets to the big match at the 15,276-capacity ground having been sold.

Las Azulgranas will be without Andressa Alves and Melanie Serrano for their first-ever European semi-final appearance. On the other hand, they hope to welcome back Danish star Line Roddik Hansen, the only member of their squad to have previously featured at this stage of the competition.

PSG, for their part, will be seeking to advance to their second final, having finished as runners-up back in 2014/15. What's more, the Parisians find themselves in a precarious position in the French league, where they have a fight on their hands to finish in the top two, meaning they may yet need to triumph in the Champions League to secure a place in the tournament next season. Two of the most familiar faces in their ranks are Boquete, who is bidding to win the competition for a second time, and Irene Paredes, who swapped Athletic Club for the French capital precisely to play in such matches.

On Saturday at 18:00, the ball will get rolling in what promises to be a tie of the highest quality, one that will be decided at none other than the Parc des Princes, where FC Barcelona Women will be looking to break yet more new ground.