FC Bayern Women travel to Hamburg in DFB Cup quarter-finals

FC Bayern Women return to action after the international break with a bang! Before league business resumes at the weekend, the DFB Cup is on the agenda as the holders travel north to Hamburg in the quarter-finals on Wednesday evening. Kick-off is at 18:30 CET at the Volksparkstadion.

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Head coach José Barcala’s side went into the first international break of 2026 on a high after a rousing 4-1 victory over nearest challengers Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. FCB Women demonstrated spirit in particular, since the She-Wolves were 1-0 up at half-time. The second half was a different story as Jovana Damnjanović (54’, 56’) turned the game around with a quickfire double, before Georgia Stanway (70’) and Klara Bühl (80’) wrapped up the win in the top-of-the-table clash. As a result, the defending double winners extended their lead at the top of the table to 14 points and their unbeaten run in all competitions to 19 games.

In the DFB Cup, Barcala’s charges reached this stage with a 3-0 win over FC Ingolstadt in mid-November, with the goals coming from Barbara Dunst (50’), Lea Schüller (57’) and Natalia Padilla Bidas (90’+7).

Ready for Hamburg: FC Bayern Women are bidding to reach the semi-finals of the DFB Cup against the promoted Bundesliga side. | © FC Bayern / Eva Dippold

Opponents: Hamburg

HSV Women battled to a 1-1 draw against northern rivals Werder Bremen last time out in front of a club-record Bundesliga crowd of 12,276. With that point and the 4-0 away win at Hoffenheim in the week before, head coach Liese Brancao’s side have given themselves a bit of breathing space in the relegation battle. The Red Shorts currently occupy 12th place in the Women’s Bundesliga with 14 points.

They advanced to the quarter-finals of the cup in highly dramatic fashion. After the tie against Bayer Leverkusen finished 1-1 after 90 minutes and extra time, Hamburg prevailed on penalties, with all four of their takers converting and two Leverkusen players missing.

The head-to-head history between the two clubs clearly favours Bayern: in 23 meetings, the Munich side have claimed 14 wins – including an emphatic 6-0 success in the league match earlier this season – while three matches have ended in draws. The last cup encounter was almost 14 years ago, when FCB triumphed 5-2 in the semi-finals of the 2011/12 competition.

In the flow: Vanessa Gilles and FC Bayern Women have won their last seven games in all competitions. | © FC Bayern / Eva Dippold

Team news

Long-term absentees Sarah Zadrazil and Lena Oberdorf (both cruciate ligament tears) remain sidelined for Barcala’s team. Alara Şehitler (partial cruciate ligament tear), Klara Bühl (muscle strain), Jovana Damnjanović (overuse injury) and Katharina Naschenweng (ankle ligament) are also unavailable, while Momoko Tanikawa is currently on international duty at the Asian Cup.

Clear mission: Head coach José Barcala and his side want to leave the Volksparkstadion as winners. | © FC Bayern / Eva Dippold

Pre-match quotes

José Barcala: “We expect a tough cup match – these clashes have their own laws. There’s no room for error, the atmosphere at the Volksparkstadion will be electric. The crowd will support their team all the way. We’re up against very well-organised opponents, in a compact block with high pressing at times. We’ll be best prepared for that.”

Magdalena Eriksson: “I expect a totally different game to the Bundesliga meeting. In the cup, in front of this crowd, Hamburg will give everything, probably sit deep and wait for their moments. That’s going to be a real test for us. We’ve only had two days to prepare, which makes it all the important that we quickly get together and bring our best performance. It’s on us to get the job done and get a step closer to our target of Cologne.”

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