Potsdam seek to consolidate place with Bayern Munich date as battle for third place goes to the wire: Frauen-Bundesliga Week 22 Preview
Potsdam are in a Bavarian battle as fight for third place with Frankfurt extends into the final day of the Frauen-Bundesliga campaign
Turbine Potsdam face the uphill task of having to cement their spot when they play Frauen-Bundesliga runners-up Bayern Munich at the FC Bayern Campus Platz 1 on Sunday afternoon.
Potsdam, who are tied on 43 points with fourth place Frankfurt, will be guns-blazing for a win in order to consolidate their place and qualify for the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) next season whilst the Bavarians, despite losing the league title to Wolfsburg last weekend, will be looking to finish strong with a win at home in this final fixture of the Frauen-Bundesliga.
A win for Frankfurt against lowly Werder Bremen elsewhere on Sunday would spell doom for the Sofian Chahed side.
The Bavarians will pin their hopes on star gun-slinger forward Lea Schuller who boasts 15 goals and four assists in 21 appearances in the league and is the top scorer in the current Frauen-Bundesliga campaign whilst third place Potsdam will bank on the services of striker Selina Cerci who boasts 13 goals and four assists in the league and is second top scorer in the current Bundesliga campaign.
Bayern are on 52 points having recorded 17 wins, one draw and three defeats whilst Potsdam 43 points having registered 13 wins, four draws and four defeats.
The fixture will be an emotional one for the hosts who have announced that they would be prematurely parting ways with head coach Jens Scheuer on 1 July 2022 after three years in charge.
“On behalf of FC Bayern Munich, we would like to thank Jens Scheuer for the work he has done over the past three years. He has shown what can be possible with our women's team. Above all, we would like to thank him for winning the German championship in the 2020/2021 season, which was achieved in a very challenging season”, Karin Danner, Bayern Munich head of women’s football, said.
Scheuer said: “I wish FC Bayern all the best and thank you for an exciting, intensive and successful time together as head coach of the women's department”.
Elsewhere, recently crowned Frauen-Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg will be looking to finish strong when they host seventh place Bayer Leverkusen in their final fixture of the campaign at the AOK Stadion on Sunday.
The German champions destroyed bottom place Carl Zeiss Jena 10-1 in their previous fixture and will be looking to build on the momentum to inflict maximum damage on Achim Feifel’s side who could slip to eighth with a loss in Lower Saxony.
The hosts will pin their hopes on fun scoring forward Tabea Wassmuth who is club top scorer with 11 goals in the league whilst Bayer will turn to the services of Bosnian forward Milena Nikolić who is club top scorer with seven goals.
The hosts have amassed 56 points from 18 wins and two draws in 21 outings whilst the visitors have gathered 22 points from six wins and four draws in the same number of matches.
Fourth place Frankfurt will make one final charge for third place when they host ninth place Werder Bremen on Sunday.
The Frankfurt side are tied on 43 points with third place Potsdam and stand a chance of qualifying for the UWCL with a win at home.
The hosts will be banking on the services of Slovenian forward Lara Prašnikar who is club top scorer with 11 goals in the league.
Frankfurt have amassed 43 points from 14 wins and one draw in 21 encounters whilst Werder Bremen have collected 18 points from four wins and six draws in the same number of matches.
11thplace SC Sand will be relishing the prospects of escaping relegation with a win over fifth place Hoffenheim away on Sunday.
The visitors have recorded just three wins and three draws in 21 matches amounting to 12 points whilst the hosts have registered 12 wins and four draws in the same number of outings amounting to 40 points.
The visitors will have to be on the watch out for Hoffenheim’s free scoring forward Nicole Billa who is third top scorer in the current Bundesliga campaign with 12 goals.
Sixth place Freiburg travel to eighth place Köln on Sunday.
Freiburg will be looking to build on their 3-0 win over SGS Essen last weekend whilst Köln will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 1-0 defeat to relegation threatened Sand last weekend.
The hosts will be on the lookout for striker Hasret Kayikçi who is Freiburg’s top scorer with 11 goals.
The visitors have recorded 31 points from nine wins and four draws in 21 outings whilst the hosts are 10 points adrift having registered five wins, six draws and 10 defeats.
10thplace SGS Essen will look to avoid relegation with a win over Carl Zeiss Jena at home on Sunday.
The hosts will be looking to rebound from a 3-0 defeat to Freiburg last weekend whilst the visitors, whose fate of relegation has been sealed, will also be looking to come back from a humiliating 10-1 thrashing at the hands of champions Wolfsburg last weekend.
Essen have collected a meagre 14 points from three wins and five draws in 21 encounters whilst Carl Zeiss Jena have registered a paltry five points from one win and two draws in the same number of matches.
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FIXTURES (Sunday):
FC Köln vs Freiburg 14:00;
Hoffenheim vs. SC Sand 14:00;
Frankfurt vs. Werder Bremen 14:00;
VfL Wolfsburg vs. Bayer Leverkusen 14:00;
Bayern Munich vs. Turbine Potsdam 14:00;
SGS Essen vs. Carl Zeiss Jena 14:00
All times are Central European Time (CET)