Lynn Wilms Says Wolfsburg 'Happy' to be Underdogs Against Barcelona | OneFootball

VfL Wolfsburg defender Lynn Wilms says her side are up for the fight as they prepare to face Barcelona in the quarter finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League.

Already the underdogs heading into the final eight, the two-time Champions League winners won't back down from a fight with the Spanish giants.

The group runners-up will host Barcelona at Volkswagen Arena before travelling to Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys for the final tie of the two-legged fixture. Despite the odds being hugely stacked against them, the SheWolves are up for the challenge.

Speaking to Sports Illustrated ahead of the quarter final meeting, Wilms expresses: "We want to win, that is one thing I can say.

"We are the underdogs in this game obviously we play against a big Barcelona. We want to win, and you can see that we have such a big hunger there. We are also unbeatable when we have this really big hunger, so when we put it all on the line I think it's going to be a surprising, crazy game to be honest."

The two sides met in Eindhoven two seasons ago, where Barcelona ran out 3-2 victors in the Champions League final. Despite taking an early 2-0 lead, Wolfsburg coughed up victory in the second half.

Despite the skeletons that may still be in her closet, Wilms claims: "I think this is a new day, a new game."

"We have a different team now, we don't play with the team that we did on that day," she says. "Lena Oberdorf [Bayern Munich], Dominque Janssen [Manchester United], Ewa Pajor [Barcelona], now we play against them. It's already a challenge as a team to just overcome this and to win this, so its a whole different day.

"That is in the past. For me personally, when I think about games I would like to change, it would be one of those games that I would like to play again. But for the team this is a new challenge, its a new day, it's in the past," the defender adds.

Finishing second in their qualifying group behind Olympique Lyon, Wolfsburg had the possibility of facing Barcelona, or English giants Arsenal and Chelsea in the quarter final stage. Now drawn against the back-to-back European Champions, Wilms says the team "feel good" being "underdogs".

"Obviously we thought it's a good opponent, but we I think that with all the teams," she adds. "We could have had Chelsea or Arsenal, we were going to have a difficult draw anyways. I think they were all top teams. But we want to measure ourselves with the top.

"When we played in the Champions League final we were a little bit the underdog. I think we feel good in that position, but obviously we want to win."

The Spanish giants have recently bid farewell to England midfielder Keira Walsh to depart Barcelona for pastures anew, signing for Women's Super League champions Chelsea in the January transfer window.

"She is world class, she is a top player," explains Wilms on Walsh's departure from Barcelona. "But, at the end of the day, they have so many good players. If Keira isn't playing then maybe Aitana [Bonmati] or Patri [Guijarro] will play there. They are world class, they have good options."

The defender will also come up against former teammate Ewa Pajor, who departed the club to sign for Barcelona in the summer of 2024. The Polish striker is in hot form this season, having scored 24 goals in 25 matches so far.

"She is a machine, I really like Ewa a lot," praises Wilms. "I think she deserves everything, every goal she scores she works for it herself. It's going to be a challenge to play against her because now we have to play against each other, but I'm looking forward to that."

As well as world class squad talent, the Spanish giants also pack the punch of having one of the biggest fanbases in women's football. Despite the noise that the Culers army bring, Wilms says: "We are Wolfsburg, we did it at Arsenal a few years ago. So, I don't think it matters to us."

Leaving one final note on what it would mean to lift the European trophy, Wilms tells Sports Illustrated: "It would be a dream to be honest. We always say to dream big, so I really hope that its given to me one day."