Brann and Barcelona will play the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at Åsane Arena on Wednesday March 20.
Brann against Barcelona at a glance
When: Wednesday, March 20th (9 p.m. CET)
Where: Åsane Arena, Bergen
What: UEFA Women’s Champions League quarter-final first leg
Ticker & Stream: Preliminary reporting and the live stream from DAZN
Second leg: Thursday 28 March (6:45 p.m. CET), Estadi Johan Cruyff, Sant Joan Despí
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Brann is in Europe for only the second time ever and went into the group stage with the lowest coefficient of the 16 participants, but managed to prevail against more experienced teams such as Slavia Praha and St. Pölten and earned a 2-2 draw in the home game against Lyon.
They are only the second Norwegian quarter-finalist in 14 years and have prevailed despite almost the entire group stage being played in the packed pre-season. The 2024 season begins just four days before the first leg. In preparation there was a 1-1 draw against Granada from Spain at the beginning of the month.
Defending champions Barcelona survived the group phase without any problems except for the 4-4 draw at Benfica on matchday 6 and secured group victory. Things are similar in the domestic league despite the rare draw against Levante. The team has already scored well over 100 goals this season.
Barcelona’s only previous meeting with a Norwegian team also came in a quarter-final when they won 4-0 against LSK Kvinner, whose team at the time included Ingrid Engen, who now plays for Barcelona alongside her compatriot Caroline Graham Hansen.
These are the quarterfinalists
Form curve
Fire
Shape curve: NSSUNS
Last result: LSK Kvinner – Brann 4:2, 16.03., Toppserien
Season so far: 4th place Toppsserien (2023 season)
Barcelona
Form curve: SSSSUS
Last result: Barcelona – Athletic Club 2-1, March 14th, Copa de la Reina semi-final second leg
Next game: Barcelona – Tenerife, March 17th, League F
Season so far: 1st in League F, Copa de la Reina final
All of Brann’s goals on the way to the quarterfinals
Where can I watch the games?
The streaming platform DAZN has been offering extensive women’s football content for free since this season, including the UEFA Women’s Champions League. The aim is to drive audience growth and provide a new global home for women’s football. This gives fans better access to live games and other content related to women’s football.
Selected games are also available worldwide for free DAZN YouTube channel streamed. Exceptions include the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) – where rights include clips and highlights – and China and its territories.
The live stream on YouTube is also embedded in the UEFA.com MatchCentre. You can also watch all the highlights of the UEFA Women’s Champions League on UEFA.tv from midnight.
Squad changes
Fire
Neu dabei: Anna Aahjem, Maria Flister, Ragnhild Skage
No longer there: Mille Aune, Maria Brochmann, Andrea Kvamme
Barcelona
New here: –
Below are: Berta Doltra, Aicha Camara, Meritxell Font, Ona Baradad, Asisat Oshoala
All of Barcelona’s goals on the way to the quarter-finals
Possible starting lineups
Fire: Mikalsen – Stenevik, Østenstad, Tynnilä – Kvamme, Haugland, Kielland, Lund – Engesik, Gaupset – Crummer
Barcelona: Cata Coll – Bronze, Paredes, Engen, Batlle – Walsh, Guijarro, Bonmatí – Graham Hansen, Brugts, Paralluelo
Bracket Predictor
Voices
Martin Ho, coach Brann: “It’s an opportunity for the players to play against the best players in the world and, in my opinion, against probably the best team in world football, and has been doing so for three and four years under Jonatan [Giráldez].
“I told the players that if they perform well in the two games against this team, they have the chance to be recommended for future moves. Regardless of whether you have in mind that it will be a difficult task. If you’re not motivated in these games, then you’re probably in the wrong sport.”
Caroline Graham Hansen, Barcelona attacker: “They’re a good team, they had a very good group stage. I’m happy for them because it’s a team from Norway and it’s been a long time since we had a Norwegian team in the quarter-finals .So it’s great that we’re playing against them.
“We know we have to give our best if we want to reach the semi-finals. I think they are as excited as we are.”
Where will the 2024 UEFA Women’s Champions League final take place?
The San Mamés in Bilbao will host the 2024 UEFA Women’s Champions League final on Saturday 25 May. Kick-off is at 6pm CET.
The Athletic Club stadium, which has a capacity of over 50,000 spectators, was built on the site of the old San Mamés and replaced the 100-year-old arena of the same name. The Athletic Club women’s team has already played several games in the new stadium and attracted 48,121 spectators for a 2019 cup game against Atlético de Madrid, which was a Spanish record at the time.