First-ever clash against the Irons: FCB Women host newly-promoted Union Berlin

The first-ever clash is almost upon us: FC Bayern Women take on Union Berlin at the Campus for the first time on Friday evening. After the 6-0 thrashing of 1. FC Nürnberg in the Bavarian derby, the Munich side now face another newly-promoted side ahead of the big Champions League showdown against Arsenal next Wednesday. Kick-off for the match on Bundesliga Matchday 10 is at 18:30 CET. 

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FCB Women have been in impressive form and in a scoring mood of late. Last weekend, head coach José Barcala's team celebrated a 4-1 home win against SGS Essen. Just three days later, they celebrated an emphatic 6-0 win in the all-Bavarian clash against 1. FC Nürnberg. The Munich women consolidated their position at the top of the Bundesliga table with these victories and impressively underlined their title ambitions.

One player has been in particularly lethal form of late: Klara Bühl was directly involved in three goals (one goal, two assists) in the 6-0 win in Nuremberg and leads the Bundesliga scoring charts with a total of 13 goals (four goals, nine assists). The Germany international has been directly involved in at least one goal in the last four games giving her an impressive total of seven goal contributions (two goals, five assists)..

Barbara Dunst and Natalia Padilla Bidas have also provided some special moments: while Austria international Dunst celebrated her comeback and debut in an FCB shirt against Nürnberg, Padilla Bidas scored for the first time in a competitive match for FCB in the thumping win over FCN.

The opponents: 1. FC Union Berlin

The women from the Köpenick district can look back on the first phase of the season with some satisfaction: As a newly-promoted team, head coach Ailien Poese's side currently find themselves in ninth place in the women's Bundesliga table with ten points from their first nine games. However, last season's second-division champions, captained by Lisa Heiseler have suffered defeats in each of their last two Bundesliga matches and came away empty-handed at SV Werder Bremen and most recently at home against runners-up VfL Wolfsburg.

The clash on Friday evening is a real first: FC Bayern Women and Union Berlin have never faced each other in a competitive match. Previously, the Irons had only faced the reigning double winners' reserves. The record against promoted teams clearly speaks in favour of the Munich side: FCB are unbeaten in 45 Bundesliga matches, having won 44 of them and drawn one (they last lost 3-2 against TSG Hoffenheim in June 2014).

🔍 1. FC Union Berlin's rapid rise from the Regionalliga to the Bundesliga:

Team news

Head coach José Barcala will still be without the long-term injured Sarah Zadrazil (cruciate ligament) and Lena Oberdorf (cruciate ligament) against Union. Vanessa Gilles (muscular) and Carolin Simon (hamstring) are also still sidelined. Goalkeeper Ena Mahmutovic (ankle), Tuva Hansen (ankle), as well as Lea Schüller (muscle problem) will also miss the game against the Irons. Arianna Caruso, on the other hand, is back in the reigning double winners' squad following her shoulder injury.

Pre-match quotes

José Barcala: "Union Berlin defend diligently and with great commitment, their defence actively work to get forward and compress the pitch. We can expect a similar game to Essen or Nürnberg. They're particularly dangerous with quick counter-attacks and have fast players who can exploit any lapses in concentration. We have to be prepared if we want to be successful against them."

Klara Bühl: "Union are a promoted team with good quality - they have a lot of young players, but also experienced Bundesliga players in their ranks. We're expecting a challenging match. They're physically strong and play a counter-attacking game. We intend to stop that and score a lot of goals ourselves so we keep the three points in Munich."

FC Bayern Women host Arsenal at the Allianz Arena next Wednesday: