Europe's premier club competition for women comes to the French capital! On Thursday evening, FC Bayern Women take on Paris Saint-Germain in Matchday 2 of the UEFA Women's Champions League. Kick-off at the Stade Jean Bouin is at 18:45 CET. The match will be streamed free of charge by DAZN on YouTube. The situation, reaction and team news - all you need to know in our preview.
The situation
On Matchday 1 of the UEFA Women's Champions League, FC Bayern Women had to settle for a 2-2 draw against AS Roma after going into a two-goal lead at home. In the league, on the other hand, the Munich women celebrated a convincing 2-0 away win at Werder Bremen on Sunday evening which saw them defend their lead at the top of the table. After ten competitive matches, head coach Alexander Straus' side are still unbeaten this season and will be looking to extend that run at PSG.
The facts on the match:
The opponents: Paris Saint-Germain
In Paris Saint-Germain, FC Bayern Women face the French Division 1 Féminine runners-up. Two wins over Manchester United in the Champions League qualifiers ensured that the capital city side are also represented in Europe's premier club competition for women this season. Les Parisiennes have consistently performed strongly in this competition in recent years. The French side reached the semi-finals in both the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons and narrowly failed to reach the last eight against VfL Wolfsburg last year. They also lost 2-0 at Ajax in their opening game of the current campaign last week.
In the domestic league, Les Rouge et Bleu's currently sit third in the table with 15 points after eight matchdays. However, there's already a nine-point gap between them and reigning champions and league leaders Olympique Lyon. Last weekend, head coach Jocelyn Prêcheur's team celebrated a hard-fought 2-1 home win against fourth-placed FC Fleury 91.
The team news
Alexander Straus will still be without long-term injurees Pernille Harder (medial ligament injury), Carolin Simon (cruciate ligament rupture), Weronika Zawistowska (cruciate ligament rupture) and Cécilía Rán Rúnarsdóttir (dislocated kneecap) in Paris. Giulia Gwinn is also still a doubt. "Giuli picked up a knock against Bremen. Hopefully she'll be available for the team in two days' time. We're definitely feeling hopeful," said the head coach at the press conference on Tuesday.
Alexander Straus: "Hoping for an interesting clash“
Alexander Straus: "We know PSG have a very good team. Just like we were against Roma, they were a bit unlucky against Ajax if you look at the stats from that game. We know we'll be up against one of the best teams in Europe. They have a lot of top players in their side and we'll have to prepare for that. We'll focus on our strengths and concentrate on ourselves. I'm hoping for an interesting clash with two different styles of play."
Katharina Naschenweng: "We're playing in a really good group. PSG dropped points last week, but so did we, so both teams will be looking to pick up points this week. You'll see that on Thursday, both teams will want to go for a win. I think it'll be very, very close."
You can watch Thursday's game live & free of charge here:
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