EKATERINBURG (EuroLeague Women) - Every once in a while, a game in the Europe's top club competition for women makes mouths water.

Such is the case this week, when the biggest battle of the EuroLeague Women so far is to be waged when unbeatens Galatasaray and UMMC Ekaterinburg meet in Istanbul.

Both sides have reeled off five wins in as many games.

Galatasaray are missing two of the finest players in the world, players who featured for them last season in Diana Taurasi and Tina Charles.

They also have a new coach in Ekrem Memnun and not national team boss Ceyhun Yildizoglu.

As the saying goes, though, change is good, and it certainly has been for Gala.

Now on the frontline are Sancho Lyttle and Ann Wauters, members of Ros Casares' EuroLeague Women and Spanish title-winning side earlier this year.

There are also Turkey international Isil Alben and Lindsay Whalen, the USA Olympic and World champion.

UMMC have gone into this season looking to sweep all before them, though, and there will not be many to bet against them on Wednesday or the rest of the season.

Their roster is stocked with great players.

Taurasi is now with Ekat and Candace Parker is also back.

Another of the USA Olympic gold-medal winners, Sue Bird, will soon be joining the club, too.

The club is so deep and talented that it doesn't have to rely on the aforementioned trio to even win games.

At the weekend, UMMC romped to an 87-56 second-leg triumph over Dinamo-GUVD Novosibirsk to reach the Russian Cup Final Four.

Taurasi and Parker didn't even play, so Anete Jekabsone-Zogota had 19 points and Sandrine Gruda 15 for UMMC.

Latvia are hoping that Jekabsone will return to the national team set-up for next summer's EuroBasket Women when the team tries to qualify for the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women while Gruda, France's Olympic silver-medal winner, will be with the tournament hosts.

Olaf Lange is the new coach of the team, while one of the new UMMC players is Russia’s Anna Petrakova, a forward who made her senior team bow at the Olympics this past summer.

Petrakova could have signed for any number of teams in Europe but she opted for UMMC and has one thing in mind.

“It’s one of the best clubs,” she said.

“I wanted to play in the EuroLeague and win with the team. I know Ekaterinburg hasn’t won the title for nine years.”

FIBA