Champions League to finish year
Tue | 20/12/22 | 16:48
Bayern Women host Benfica “wanting to show how strong we are”
FC Bayern Women play their final match of the year as they host Benfica in the last game of the UEFA Women’s Champions League group stage on Wednesday. Kick-off at the FC Bayern Campus is at 21:00 CET and you can watch the game live and for free via DAZN’s YouTube channel.
Situation for Bayern
The Frauen have already qualified for the Champions League knockout stage with a game to spare after their 4-0 win away at Swedish champions Rosengard, coupled with Benfica’s loss to Barcelona, last Thursday. It also means that the visitors from Portugal are stuck in third place and can no longer progress.
Alexander Straus’s side claimed a thrilling 3-2 win in the reverse fixture at the Caixa Futebol Campus in Lisbon, thanks to Georgia Stanway’s late brace to complete the comeback.
Pre-game quotes
Alexander Straus: “We have to be focused and professional and play with the same intensity as the reverse fixture. I’m very pleased with our performances in recent weeks. We had a tight schedule and a lot of injuries, but we’ve managed that very well as a team. I’m proud of the girls and we’re on the right track.”
Georgia Stanway: “We know Benfica are a good team. The game there was very tough, but we managed to turn it around. That was very important for us. We’re pleased to be going into the last game having already qualified for the quarter-finals. But we want to show we’re strong as a team and end the year on a high.”
Head coach Alexander Straus and the FCB Women want to go into the winter break on the back of a win.
The stats
Bayern and Benfica meet for the fourth time on Wednesday. As well as the match earlier this campaign, the pair also faced off in last season’s Champions League group stage. The Frauen won 4-0 at the FC Bayern Campus that year, with the game in Lisbon ending goalless.
Fitness update
Linda Dallmann, Hanna Glas, Giulia Gwinn and Jovana Damnjanovic are all still out through injury. Straus is also without captain Lina Magull due to a knee issue. Laura Benkarth is a doubt with flu, but Maximiliane Rall is available again after she broke her nose.
Sarah Zadrazil and Lea Schüller want to take their winning momentum into the final game of the year.
Fan information
Tickets can be purchased up until kick-off in the online ticket shop. You can also watch the game from home with DAZN’s free stream. Further exclusive coverage will be available on our Instagram, Twitter and Facebook channels.
Hear what Straus and Stanway had to say at their pre-match press conference:
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