Six battles that will decide the Women's Champions League final between Barcelona and Lyon

In her second season with Barcelona, Ewa Pajor has been in flying form in front of goal again. No one has scored more goals in the Women's Champions League this term than the Poland international, who has netted nine times in nine games to help the Catalans reach yet another final. Now, it's up to two familiar faces to stop her from continuing down that path in the final on Saturday.

It was at Wolfsburg that Pajor made her name, after arriving in Lower Saxony as a teenager. The German giants were one of the best teams in Europe at the time, and the striker would play in four Champions League finals with them - losing three times to Lyon. Pajor started two of those, but it was Wendie Renard, the France icon, who came out on top in the duel between a world-class striker and a world-class centre-back. Those two will go head-to-head again this weekend.

Alongside Renard will be Ingrid Engen, who Pajor has previously called a team-mate at both Wolfsburg and Barcelona. The Norway international has had an outstanding first season at Lyon, marking herself out as one of the best centre-backs in the game in the process. Her excellence in that position will be be given the ultimate test on Saturday, though, as Engen prepares to go up against Pajor for the first time.

It promises to be an enthralling battle between three top-quality players, as the Barcelona striker seeks to finally win a Champions League title, with the honour having somehow eluded her to this point.

How Lyon will set up their midfield to cope with the various threats Barcelona possess in central positions will be interesting. The French giants have a variety of different combinations they could turn to, as they try to stifle the potentially Ballon d'Or-worthy form of Alexia Putellas and the return of three-time Golden Ball winner Aitana Bonmati. Regardless of which trio OL boss Jonatan Giraldez chooses, though, Melchie Dumornay will be in there - and figuring out how to stop her will be just as big a headache for Barcelona.

Dumornay has put herself in a position to possibly win the Ballon d'Or, too, having regularly stood out as the best player on the pitch whenever she has taken to the field for Lyon this term. That fact isn't reflected so emphatically in the numbers, with her not quite racking up the sort of eye-watering tallies of goals and assists she has done in years previous, but don't let that deceive you. Dumornay is playing at a remarkably high level and has been all season.

If Lyon are to win this game, she will be at the heart of the triumph, which is where Patri Guijarro comes into the equation. Widely regarded as the best holding midfielder in the women's game, the Barcelona star will be tasked with showcasing exactly why that is the case this weekend.

The last time these two went head-to-head, in the 2024 final, Dumornay played as a forward and so was more of a concern for Barca's centre-backs, rather than Guijarro. To see how it plays out with the Haitian star a little deeper, right in the middle of that incredible Barca midfield, will be fascinating.

After breaking through at Hoffenheim as a teenager, and catching the eye in the club's Women's Champions League outings in particular, it feels like Jule Brand has gone to the next level this year. It's been a long time coming for a promising talent who has been known for a while now, but after a move to Wolfsburg didn't quite go to plan, the 23-year-old is showing why she has always been so highly-rated in a great first season at Lyon.

Brand's impact in the Champions League semi-finals was particularly impressive, with goals in both legs of the win over Arsenal, and her importance in Saturday's final has become even greater since the news came through that Kadidiatou Diani, on the opposite flank, will miss the game.

Further impetus is going to be placed on Brand to deliver that threat from out wide then, with Ona Batlle to be the player tasked with stopping her. It's going to be one of Batlle's final games in Barca colours, with a move to Arsenal seemingly on the horizon, and she will want to go out on a high by helping her childhood club win the Champions League. To do so, though, she'll need to apply herself well, having struggled at times to contain Klara Buhl in the semi-final clash with Bayern Munich.

The manner in which Caroline Graham Hansen has risen to the occasion in the most important part of the season has been so impressive. She has been in great form all campaign long, but her performances in the biggest games have been a serious indicator of her ability to handle the pressure, something that she'll look to do again on Saturday in her home city of Oslo.

Out to thwart her will be another world-class player, though, in Selma Bacha. The France international is one of the best full-backs in the world, because of her attacking output but also her defensive capabilities. Bacha loves to get up the pitch and is a massive part of what Lyon do going forward. How she balances that with handling Graham Hansen is going to be fascinating, as the two go head-to-head in a European final once again.

In 2022, Bacha had the better of this duel as Lyon beat Barca in Turin. In 2024, it was Graham Hansen who shone, as Barca got their revenge in Bilbao. How will it play out in 2026?

Esmee Brugts' importance to Barcelona has grown year-on-year since her arrival in Catalunya three years ago, as a 20-year-old. This term, she has started all 10 of the team's Champions League games, producing four goals and four assists from left-back to help the three-time winners reach the 2026 final.

Brugts would've expected to have to deal with Diani in Saturday's game, and thus be thinking about how best to balance out her attacking threat with her defensive responsibilities. However, the France international will miss the final with a knee injury, significantly reducing the danger on Lyon's right side.

Vicki Becho would be expected to fill in for Diani in that role and the talented young forward has plenty of quality, so should not be dismissed. She scored twice in Lyon's Coupe de France win over Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month and heads into the weekend's game with four goals and three assists in her last seven appearances for OL, only five of which have been starts.

However, Becho certainly doesn't have the same experience and proven quality on the biggest stage as Diani, potentially presenting Brugts with greater opportunity to get forward and run at Ashley Lawrence. Lawrence is more of a defensively astute full-back, especially in today's game, with so many players in the position boasting greater attacking threats. Her abilities one-v-one will be tested thoroughly by the in-form Brugts, while her effectiveness in supporting Becho in attack will be just as important as Lyon look to cope with the huge loss of Diani and still attack an area of this Barca team that can present space to opponents.

While there are sure to be so many exciting battles on the pitch in this final, the managerial head-to-head is also one of the most intriguing match-ups that we are likely to see from the Champions League this season.

When Barca last lifted the title in 2024, it was Jonatan Giraldez who guided them there, as part of a remarkable quadruple. It would be his third and final season in charge in Catalunya, with him heading to the United States to take over at the Washington Spirit shortly afterwards. Now, he’s back in Europe and going up against his former employers for the first time, in his first season at Lyon.

Pere Romeu, in the opposite dugout, was part of Giraldez’s Barca staff, and when the 34-year-old left two years ago, Romeu was promoted into the leading role. The two know each other extremely well, then, which will make for an intriguing tactical battle.

Giraldez has the advantage. He has the experience, has won more big titles and also has the inside track on Barca's players in a big way. For Romeu, on the other hand, it feels like an opportunity to really prove himself. He has had his critics in the last two years, but he deserves a lot of credit for how he has managed Barca's thin squad this season, and especially for how he has developed some of the younger players amid financial restraints.

Can the apprentice get one over the master? Or will Giraldez triumph again and become the first manager to win the Women's Champions League with two different clubs?