Oshoala set to clinch second European crown with Barca

Super Eagles forward Asisat Oshoala’s Barcelona will lock horns with Wolfsburg in the final of the 2022-23 UEFA Women’s Champions League final at Philips Stadion in Eindhoven tonight.

The Catalan club are hoping that the record five-time African Women’s Footballer of the Year can shake off a hamstring complaint to take her place in the forward line.

The Nigerian international, who is Barca’s lead goal scorer with 21 goals in 28 games, is eyeing a second European triumph with Blaugrana but Spanish champions must negotiate their way past the Germans, who are looking for a third Champions League trophy.

Barcelona have enjoyed another successful season, winning the league title for the fourth consecutive campaign and lifting their third Spanish Super Cup.

The Catalan giants will attempt to add another piece of silverware to their bursting trophy cabinet when they make their fourth Champions League final appearance in five years.

While they were successful in 2021, Barcelona lost out in the final to record winners Lyon in 2019 and 2022, with last year’s contest ending in a 3-1 defeat.

Jonatan Giraldez’s side suffered a disappointing result in their most recent outing, falling to a 2-1 defeat against Madrid CFF, bringing an end to their 64-game unbeaten league run.

They will be hoping to experience better fortunes when they face Wolfsburg tonight and they will be able to take confidence from the fact that they claimed a 5-3 aggregate victory over Die Wölfinnen in last season’s semi-finals.

After being crowned European champions in 2013 and 2014, Wolfsburg have fallen short in their last three final appearances, finishing runners-up to Lyon in 2016, 2018 and 2020.

The German side are unbeaten in 11 Champions League matches since suffering a heavy 5-1 defeat to Barcelona at Camp Nou in April 2022.

Although they lost last year’s semi-final tie, Wolfsburg boast an impressive head-to-head record against Barcelona, winning four of their five meetings in the Champions League and with eight European goals to her name, Ewa Pajor is the leading scorer in the Champions League this season, and she will be looking to add to her tally when she leads the line for the Germans tonight.