Four days after their victory in the DFB Cup round of 16 against Kickers Offenbach, FC Bayern Women welcome Essen to the FC Bayern Campus for Matchday 14 in the Google Pixel Bundesliga. Kick-off on Sunday is at 16:00 CET (tickets here).
State of play
Bayern secured their place in the DFB Cup quarter-finals last Wednesday in Offenbach. The 6-0 win was the team’s biggest of the season. The match against the Kickers will also be particularly memorable for a number of players. Anna Wellmann made her full debut, as did Alara Şehitler, who also got her first goal for the senior team. Jovana Damnjanović scored her 50th goal in a Bayern shirt.
Bayern were also victorious in their most recent league match with a 5-0 win away at Köln that extended the team’s unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to 30 games. That streak also includes a 2-0 win away at Essen in the first half of the season. The side will now look to continue their run of form in the return fixture.
Lea Schüller scored in the side’s previous meeting to make it 2-0.
Opponents: Essen
Essen sit in seventh place in the Bundesliga with 13 games played. Their last match was a high-scoring encounter as Markus Högner’s side earned a 4-4 draw with RB Leipzig. Prior to that, Essen had suffered two league defeats against top sides Eintracht Frankfurt and Wolfsburg. They are yet to get a win in 2024, with their last three points coming from a 1-0 victory away at Köln on 16 December.
Team news
Alexander Straus will again be without Carolin Simon (cruciate ligament), Weronika Zawistowska (cruciate ligament), Cecilia Ran Runarsdottir (kneecap), Magdalena Eriksson (metatarsal), Ana Maria Guzman (knee) and Tainara (illness). Georgia Stanway is also suspended for the match due to her fifth yellow card of the season.
Sam Kerr and Co. prepare for the match against Essen.
Zadrazil: “Essen have potential to surprise”
Alexander Straus: “I have a lot of respect for Essen. They have different challenges than us and they also have a lot of young talent in their ranks this season. Clubs like these are very important for German football. They focus on their tasks and they do that brilliantly. Essen are always difficult opponents, so it will be important for us to believe in ourselves and capitalise on the momentum."
Sarah Zadrazil: "Essen as a team have potential to surprise this season. They have a very good squad, a lot of dynamism and are good in transition. They've already taken points off some big teams so far. We have to pick up where we left off in the league."
Read up on the stats ahead of facing Essen here:
Topics of this article