After the 2-0 win at Hoffenheim in the DFB Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday, it's back to league action for FC Bayern Women. On Sunday 5 March, the Munich girls travel to ninth-placed Werder Bremen (kick-off 16:00 CET). The state of play, quotes, team news – it's all in our preview.
The state of play
Three competitive matches, three wins – that's FCB Women's immaculate record so far in 2023. After starting the second half of the campaign with a 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, Alexander Straus' side also claimed all three points in the rearranged game at Turbine Potsdam with a dominant 3-0 victory. Despite a long wait for the first goal, Bayern also came through Tuesday's cup tie at Hoffenheim, beating the Kraichgau outfit 2-0 in regular time. The Reds therefore make the trip north with a deserved cup semi-final place in the bag and plenty of confidence.
The opponents
With a glance at the table it's clear that Bayern are heavy favourites for Sunday's clash in Bremen. With 10 points from 12 games this season, Werder are currently ninth in the table. They have made up some ground in the battle against relegation thanks to wins in their first two matches of the calender year at Leverkusen (2-0) and at Potsdam (2-1), although Thomas Horsch's side are still level on points with Köln in 10th and Duisburg in the first relegation spot.
The statistics
The head-to-head record between both clubs also confirms Bayern's status as favourites. FCB Women have won all 12 of their previous encounters with Werder, including an 8-0 drubbing in the 2021 title season.
The team news
There's good and bad news on the personnel front for FCB Women. Jovana Damnjanović returned to full training this week, but Linda Dallmann is definitely out after tearing her syndesmosis ligament in the cup match at Hoffenheim, as is Giulia Gwinn. Tainara and Lina Magull are doubts with muscular problems.
Pre-match quotes
Head coach Alexander Straus: "Bremen will go into the game against us with confidence because they've won their last two league games. They've improved in some areas after the winter break. They're a very organised team, who also caused us problems in the reverse fixture here in Munich. We hope we can do better on Sunday."
Sydney Lohmann: "It goes without saying: we want to win. We want to win every game from now on in order to keep up the pressure on Wolfsburg in the league. But we'll obviously be up against very motivated opponents who have won their last two. They'll certainly be very aggressive, as you expect from a relegation candidate, and we'll have to stand up to that. Nothing less than three points will do."
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