Heading to Oslo: FC Bayern Women take on Vålerenga

After a resounding 3-0 home win for FC Bayern Women over the Norwegians last week, the two teams will now meet again in Oslo for part two of the UWCL double-header: Head coach Alexander Straus' side take on Vålerenga on Thursday, 21 November. Kick-off at the Intility Arena is at 18:45 CET. The match will be broadcast in Germany on subscription channel DAZN, free-to-air on DAZN Rise and on DF1. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game.

The situation

The first games in Europe's premier women's club competition could hardly have gone better for the FCB Women: Thanks to three wins from three games, Straus' side are top of Group C with nine points and a goal difference of 10:2.

The Munich women have continued to impress in the league and recorded an emphatic 5-0 home win against Carl Zeiss Jena on Sunday. In addition to Glódís Viggósdóttir and Klara Bühl, Lea Schüller and Jovana Damnjanović also got on the scoresheet to contribute to FCB's seventh win in the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga.

The game against Vålerenga marks the start of the run of return games in the Champions League double headers and the omens are good for a successful match. Bayern dominated the first encounter at the FC Bayern Campus with 76 per cent possession, more than twice as many shots on goal (15:7) and an outstanding pass completion rate of 89 per cent. FCB Women also continue to excel with set pieces in the UWCL: Six goals have been scored from dead ball sitiations, five of them from different providers. That speaks for the great versatility of the team. Pernille Harder, the season's top scorer so far, and Klara Bühl, the top provider, could also make the difference in Oslo.

The opponents: Vålerenga

The Norwegians, on the other hand, were particularly convincing in their qualifying campaign to get into the group stage of the UWCL, winning clearly against Anderlecht and Farul Constanța. In Group C, on the other hand, they've yet to pick up a point. After losing 1-0 to Juventus in their opener, head coach Nils Lexeröd's side were soundly beaten in the subsequent matches against Arsenal (1-4) and FC Bayern (0-3).

Team news

Heading into the game in Oslo, head coach Straus is still without long-term absentees Lena Oberdorf (cruciate ligament), Katharina Naschenweng (knee) and Franziska Kett (ankle) as well as Mala Grohs (illness). Sydney Lohmann and Sam Kerr have returned to team training following their time out injured and are back in the squad for the trip. Ana María Guzmán will not be travelling to Norway as she is not eligible to play in the UEFA Women's Champions League.

Pre-match quotes

Alexander Straus: "We can expect quite different temperatures and pitch conditions in Norway. Vålerenga also have nothing to lose and will therefore be much more aggressive than in the reverse fixture. To win the game, we'll have to be prepared and build on last week's performance."

Glódís Viggósdóttir: "Vålerenga are a defensively strong team and will certainly be a different prospect at home than in the reverse fixture. We know how important this game is and the position it could put us in. If we win the challenges and stay a hundred per cent focused throughout the game, we can pull off a win."

Take a look back at the first game of the double-header against Vålerenga at the FC Bayern Campus: