da doce： The German side last won the UWCL back in 2014. Can they overcome the Catalans in Eindhoven to finally end the wait for a third title?

da aposte e ganhe： Taking on Barcelona is a daunting task for any team. This is a side that has won four successive league titles, reached four Champions League finals in five years and, this season, was one game away from not suffering a single league defeat. It’s little wonder, then, that they are the favourites for Saturday’s Women’s Champions League final against Wolfsburg.

But their opponents will not be scared of them. Not one bit. After all, this Wolfsburg team is one packed with winners, players who know exactly what it takes to get over the line.

As a club, they last did that in Europe in 2014, coming from 2-0 down against a star-studded Tyreso side to win 4-3. Only Alex Popp, still starting in the forward line, and Merle Frohms, then a back-up goalkeeper and now first choice, remain from the matchday squad for that final. But in Kathrin Hendrich, Pauline Bremer, Marina Hegering, Svenja Huth and Lisa Weiss, they have five more players in their ranks who have won this trophy elsewhere, too.

They’ve certainly got experience and quality aplenty as they look to deliver third UWCL title and a first in nine years. So, how do they take down this brilliant Barca team?

Getty ImagesLearn from last year

It was only last season when these two last met in the Champions League, Barcelona triumphing over two legs in their semi-final clash. Both games can be a huge resource for Tommy Stroot, Wolfsburg’s clever young coach, in the build-up to this fixture.

The first leg was a nightmare. Barca were in full flow at Camp Nou in front of a world-record crowd that roared them onto a huge 5-1 win. However, it was evident that Stroot had taken in plenty of the problems during the game and figured out the solutions, as his team were 2-0 winners in the return leg in Germany.

It might not have saved the tie, but it was Barca’s first defeat of the season and a shock outcome as a result of their seemingly unbeatable form.

Back then, Wolfsburg did not have Lena Oberdorf available in midfield, and star strikers Alex Popp and Ewa Pajor had both had their seasons, and therefore their form, disrupted by injuries. All three will be fit and firing this time around as Stroot looks to put together a game plan that delivers UWCL glory, all while enhancing his growing reputation.

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First of all, though, Wolfsburg will have to suffer. Barcelona will dominate this game and Stroot and his players will be well aware of that. They'll be starved of the ball at times and will have to focus intensely on ensuring the opponent cannot break them down.

It's not an easy thing to do when you are a top team in your own right, to sit back and let an opposition play the games on their terms. But to go toe-to-toe with Barca in a possession sense would be a suicidal plan for any team.

Fortunately, Wolfsburg are blessed with a lot of experience and they will not be fazed by this proposition. Many of them will have done it before and they'll know it's a necessary part of the plan to win.

GettyBe strong in midfield

One weakness in this Wolfsburg team in recent weeks has been in midfield due to the absence of Lena Lattwein. The Germany international is an incredibly intelligent footballer and an integral part of the team, with them just not as solid in the centre of the park without her.

It was something that Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall identified and did his best to get his team to exploit during the semi-finals, with the Gunners very notably targeting the middle of the pitch early on in the second leg at the Emirates – until Wolfsburg made a change.

That change was to put Alex Popp in there. The Germany star is an insanely versatile footballer. Usually a goal machine in a forward position, she can also bring gritty qualities to the middle of the park when needed.

Wolfsburg and Stroot will hope that is not necessary for this final, though, as the preference would certainly be to have a deadly finisher like her in those attacking areas. Instead, they will hope that Lattwein is fit enough to start this final alongside another fantastic midfield enforcer, Lena Oberdorf, the 2020 NXGN winner. The pair form a truly excellent partnership.

If Lattwein isn’t ready for such a role, the coach will have a decision to make as he cannot allow his team to be so weak in midfield given that is probably Barca’s strongest department.

GettyTake advantage of set-pieces

A more positive notable feature of Wolfsburg’s play in that Arsenal tie was just how good the German side are from set-pieces. From a free-kick taken by Felicitas Rauch just inside Arsenal's half, Popp headed the ball down and into the path of Jill Roord for their first goal, the former Gunner striking it well from the edge of the box to beat Manuela Zinsberger. For their second, it was another great delivery from Rauch that was met by Popp, this time a corner that the forward directed into the back of the net at the near post.

This has been a huge strength of theirs all season long, though, not just in this one particular game. In the league, Wolfsburg scored 16 goals from set-plays this past season. That’s double the amount of Bayern Munich, the team next on the list. They also scored the most headed goals and had the most headed shots in the division, while Rauch created more chances from set-pieces than any other player, with Svenja Huth, another regular taker, third.

Their stats are similarly strong in Europe, but they’ll have to make sure they use their big aerial presence on the defensive side, too, because it’s actually Barca who have scored the most headed goals in this year’s UWCL.