KIEV — Before Real Madrid try to get its hands on a third straight Champions League crown this week, Lyon has the chance to achieve the same feat in the women’s showpiece.

The dominant French club faces German outfit Wolfsburg in Kiev Thursday (1600 GMT) at the Valeriy Lobanovskiy Stadium, a short walk across the center of the Ukrainian capital from where Real Madrid and Liverpool will go head to head Saturday.

The size of the crowd and the prize money may not be the same — UEFA offer a bonus payment of just 250,000 euros ($294,000) to the winner. In comparison, the side that emerges victorious in the men’s competition stands to collect up to 57 million euros in total before substantial sums related to shares of television income are added on.

But Lyon and Wolfsburg are worthy finalists for the women’s game.

They torpedoed the hopes of leading English sides to make it Kiev, with Lyon edging out Manchester City in the last four with a goal from England star Lucy Bronze, while Wolfsburg overcame Chelsea.

The last 10 champions have been either French or German, with Wolfsburg itself triumphing in 2013 — when it beat Lyon — and 2014.

The extent to which Lyon reign supreme at home and abroad is remarkable — it has just won a 12th consecutive French title, while it has won four Champions League titles this decade.

No club has ever won five, so it is hoping to make history by beating a side it already defeated in the 2016 final.

“I spent 10 years in the Bundesliga and they are a club I know well,” said Lyon’s German midfielder Dzsenifer Marozsan, freshly named France’s player of the year.

“Physically they are very strong. But I think Wolfsburg might also have problems because our team is equally incredible.”

Lyon’s 2016 triumph came on penalties, despite the prolific Norwegian Ada Hegerberg missing their first spot-kick.

The French side also emerged victorious when it met in the quarterfinals last season, en route to another penalty shoot-out win in the final, against Paris Saint-Germain.

Wolfsburg is the German champion though, and is fresh from beating Bayern Munich on penalties in the German Cup final.

And it has a Scandinavian star of its own to look out for up front in Denmark’s Pernille Harder, the Bundesliga’s leading scorer.

“Pernille is one of the most complete attacking players in the women’s game at the moment,” warned Wolfsburg’s sporting director Ralf Kellermann. “She is a world-class player.”

Recent winners —2007-08: Frankfurt (GER), 2008-09: Duisburg (GER), 2009-10: Turbine Potsdam (GER), 2010-11: Lyon (FRA), 2011-12: Lyon (FRA), 2012-13: Wolfsburg (GER), 2013-14: Wolfsburg (GER), 2014-15: Frankfurt (GER), 2015-16: Lyon (FRA), 2016-17: Lyon (FRA). — AFP