Next test for FC Bayern Women! The Munich girls continue their preparations for the 2023/24 season with a friendly against league rivals TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Wednesday 23 August. The game is being held at SV Mietingen's ground in Baden-Württemberg, with kick-off at 18:00 CEST.
The state of play
FCB Women have been in the thick of pre-season for a number of weeks now. In their opening friendly, head coach Alexander Straus' side beat Sparta Prague 2-1. Since then, they've been fine-tuning in training in high summer temperatures.
FCB Women play their second friendly against Hoffenheim.
The opponents
Hoffenheim, who finished fourth in the Bundesliga last season, have already completed two friendlies. The Kraichgau side kicked off pre-season with a 16-0 win over Catholic University Cardinals, before beating Grasshopper Club Zürich 3-1 last time out. TSG now face two tough tests against Bundesliga rivals Bayern and SC Freiburg (2 September). Stephan Lerch's side play their first competitive fixture of the season on 9 September, against SV Weinberg in the DFB Cup.
The team news
Following the end of the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Straus has almost a full squad to pick from. While summer signing Magdalena Eriksson and World Cup runner-up Georgia Stanway are not yet back with the team, the likes of Pernille Harder and Lina Magull will be involved in Mietingen. The squad will be completed by players from FC Bayern Women II.
A word from head coach Alexander Straus:
"It's important that all the players gradually get their minutes. We'll have to intermix a bit because some have only just come back from the World Cup and we have to be mindful of their workload. But we're looking forward to testing ourselves against such good opposition and advancing our preparation for the season," said Straus.
'A very good test'
Defender Katharina Naschenweng, who joined Bayern from Hoffenheim in the summer, is looking forward to seeing her former teammates again: "Of course I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again. We've trained well in the last few weeks and now want to show that in the match on the pitch. Hoffenheim are at a very high level, so it's going to be a very good test."
Bundesliga debut at the Allianz Arena! Get your tickets now:
Topics of this article