Starting the new football year with a home game: FC Bayern Women host RB Leipzig

The first competitive match of the year is just around the corner! After the winter training camp in southern Spain, FC Bayern Women kick off the second half of the season with a home game against RB Leipzig. Kick-off on Matchday 15 of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga is at 18.30 CET on Sunday, 25 January, at the FC Bayern Campus.

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FCB Women have completed around three weeks of intensive mid-season preparation for the upcoming competitive fixtures, which sees the Munich side still being represented in all three competitions. Head coach José Barcala's team headed into the well-earned winter break with a commanding away win over Bayer 04 Leverkusen just before Christmas. Franziska Kett (16'), Momoko Tanikawa (75') and Georgia Stanway (86') secured the comfortable 3-0 victory and thus also the 13th win in the current Bundesliga season. With 40 points and an impressive goal difference of 54:4, the reigning double champions spent the winter firmly ensconced at the top of the table.

The recent 3-0 victory in the UEFA Women's Champions League against Vålerenga at the end of December also ensured that FC Bayern Women were able to spend the winter break with a much more liberated feeling. Thanks to this success, the Munich side qualified directly for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League, where Barcala's side will face either Manchester United or Atlético Madrid. The second leg of that fixture will take place in Munich's Allianz Arena (get your tickets via this link)!

The opposition: RB Leipzig

Leipzig can look back on a mixed Hinrunde. After six defeats in a row across all competitions - most recently a 1-0 against 1. FC Köln - head coach Jonas Stephan's side are 11th in the Bundesliga with 13 points ahead of the clash with FCB Women. Their record: four wins, one draw and nine defeats. In the DFB Cup, the Saxons were beaten by Werder Bremen in a dramatic penalty shoot-out and were eliminated from the competition. Leipzig also completed their training camp in southern Europe, in Portugal to be precise. Stephan's side recorded an emphatic 5-1 win in their friendly against PEC Zwolle, and Leipzig also won 1-0 in the second friendly against Slavia Prague.

The record ahead of the clash between the two teams clearly favours the Reds: In all five Bundesliga matches against RB Leipzig to date, FCB Women have emerged victorious - with an impressive goal difference of 18:2. No other Bundesliga team has conceded as many goals against FC Bayern as Leipzig. Conversely, the Munich women have only scored as many goals against TSG Hoffenheim since the 2023/24 season.

A look at winter signing Bernadette Amani: 

Team news

Head coach Barcala still has to do without the long-term injured Sarah Zadrazil (cruciate ligament rupture) and Lena Oberdorf (cruciate ligament rupture) for the clash against RB Leipzig 

Pre-match quotes

José Barcala: "Leipzig may not always have achieved the desired results, but we are very impressed by their development. They're one of the best teams in the league, especially when it comes to playing out from the back. The precision and interplay between the centre-backs, defensive midfielders and number 10s is at a very high level. If their opponents don't coordinate their pressing, they skilfully find space and force them to move back. So it'll be crucial for us to work in a focused manner and go into the game with the right attitude. Starting again after the winter break is always a special challenge."

Klara Bühl: "We're all very happy to be finally getting started again. We made very good use of the short preparation period with the training camp.  On Sunday, we aim to put the things we've been working on directly into practice in the game so we continue our successful run in the Bundesliga. However, Leipzig are a very strong team who are dominant and technically strong, especially in their build-up play. We'll prepare as best we can so we can keep all three points in Munich."

🏟️✨ FC Bayern Women will play their quarter-final in the Champions League in front of a big crowd:

How the FC Bayern Women's winter training camp in Spain went: