FC Bayern Women on the road again in Essen

Fresh from a 3-0 win away at Köln last Sunday, FC Bayern Women now make the trip to Essen on Friday evening for Matchday 21 in the Google Pixel Bundesliga. Kick-off at the Stadion an der Hafenstraße is at 18:30 CET. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our preview.

Latest news from Bayern

José Barcala’s side ran out comfortable victors at Köln last weekend, with Pernille Harder scoring a first-half brace before Linda Dallmann rounded off the scoring inside just 38 minutes.

Last week Bayern won by the same 3-0 scoreline at Hamburg in the DFB Cup quarter-finals. They will play their semi-final at home to Essen on 6 April.

Arianna Caruso and Bayern are on a nine-game winning streak. | © FC Bayern

Opponent: Essen

Essen were beaten 4-0 away at Hoffenheim in their last league outing and currently sit 13th in the table with 12 points from 20 games. However, Heleen Jaques’ side did produce an upset in the cup quarter-finals by beating Werder Bremen thanks to Ella Touon’s goal, setting up that semi-final clash in Munich.

Bayern have dominated this fixture in the past, winning 32 out of 43 Bundesliga meetings, drawing six and losing only five.

Magdalena Eriksson and Bayern want to record yet another win over Essen. | © FC Bayern

Team news

Coach Barcala remains without Sarah Zadrazil and Lena Oberdorf as they recover from their cruciate ligament injuries. Alara Şehitler (partial ACL tear), Klara Bühl (muscular), Jovana Damnjanović (workload) and Katharina Naschenweng (knee) are also unavailable.

Momoko Tanikawa is still with Japan at the Women’s Asian Cup and playing in Saturday’s final.

José Barcala has to prepare to face Essen twice in the space of a few weeks in the Bundesliga and DFB Cup. | © FC Bayern

Pre-match quotes

José Barcala: “Essen are a very flexible opponent who will pose a demanding challenge with their back five and variety of pressing. We know they’re brave at home and can play in an aggressive way and close down the spaces between the lines. We’ve prepared for that. But it’ll be key that we play our game, find the right rhythm and play the ball cleverly into the spaces, being clinical in the final third.”

Barbara Dunst: “Essen are usually really compact and keep the spaces tight. They have young, very committed players and have had a visible boost of late with the change of coach. We know they’ll fight against us with all they’ve got. The key thing is that we play our game and play with full conviction.”

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