Can FC Bayern Women extend their remarkable winning run against Werder Bremen?

FC Bayern Women’s final game of the Oktoberfest period sees Werder Bremen come to the FC Bayern Campus in the Google Pixel Bundesliga on Saturday. Kick-off is at 2pm CEST. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our preview.

Arianna Caruso and Magdalena Eriksson are preparing for a challenging encounter with fifth-placed Bremen. | © FC Bayern

Opponent: Werder Bremen

Werder have got off to a good start this season, following an opening 1-1 draw against Freiburg with 4-1 and 2-1 victories over Nürnberg and Hoffenheim respectively. Last time out they were beaten 4-2 by Wolfsburg. Bremen come into Matchday 5 on seven points from four games, having also progressed to the second round of the DFB Cup with a 7-0 win over Victoria Hamburg.

Despite their good form, Bayern are the favourites going into Saturday’s meeting at the Campus. The Munich Frauen claimed three victories over Werder last season, beating them 4-0 and 1-0 in the Bundesliga before a 4-2 victory in the DFB Cup final to seal the double. It means the Reds have won all 16 Bundesliga encounters with their northern rivals by an aggregate score of 56-4. There’s no other team Bayern have faced so often without ever dropping points. The last 11 league meetings have in fact all seen clean sheets for FCB, which is their best run ever against an opponent.

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Team news

Head coach José Barcala remains without Barbara Dunst (recovery from cruciate ligament) and Sarah Zadrazil (cruciate ligament). Vanessa Gilles (muscular) and Jovana Damnjanović (calf) are also sidelined for the coming weeks. Stine Ballisager returns to the squad after being rested for the DFB Cup win at Borussia Dortmund.

José Barcala has been preparing his team to defend top spot in the Bundesliga against Werder Bremen. | © FC Bayern

Pre-match quotes

José Barcala: “We’re expecting to face a well-organised team in Bremen on Saturday. They’re aggressive in their pressing and compact in defence. It’ll be important for us to have a clear structure, communicate a lot out on the pitch and play the game in a way that makes it tough for the opposition to predict. The key thing will be our aggression. The benchmark remains our performance against Freiburg. We want to build on that.”

Ena Mahmutovic: “Bremen have come on really well again compared to last year. They were solid defensively then but are now much more variable in how they play. They have a lot of quality with their young, talented players and will definitely want to get something here. We need to be prepared for that and go into the game with the right level of respect. We’ve got our plan and want to implement it.”

FC Bayern Women will host Arsenal at the Allianz Arena in November: