Wolfsburg in uphill Hoffenheim task as Bayern, Frankfurt play easy fixtures: Frauen-Bundesliga Week 5 Preview
• Wolfsburg date Hoffenheim at home with their 100% start to the season at stake
· Bayern travel to league newcomers RB Leipzig on Sunday evening
· Frankfurt host lowly Duisburg on Sunday afternoon
Former Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg will be looking to extend their 100% start to the season when they host second place Hoffenheim in a tricky date at the AOK Stadion on Sunday afternoon.
Die Wölfinnen will be looking to put behind them a shock exit from the UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) after a 5-2 aggregate loss at the hands of D1 Arkema side Paris FC on Wednesday whilst Die Kraichgauer will be looking to make it two wins on the bounce having dispatched league newcomers Nürnberg 3-0 last weekend.
Polish forward Ewa Pajor, who scored one of the goals in Wolfsburg’s 2-0 league win over RB Leipzig last weekend and is also club top scorer with two goals, will be relishing the prospects of adding to her tally when they play the visitors whilst German striker Melissa Kössler, who is Bundesliga's current top scorer with five goals, will be looking to drive Hoffenheim to crucial win come Sunday.
Wolfsburg sit at the apex of the Bundesliga standings on 12 points from four wins in four outings whilst Hoffenheim are on 10 points from three wins and a draw from the same number of contests.
Meanwhile, reigning champions Bayern Munich face RB Leipzig away on Sunday evening and will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing one-all draw against Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend which saw them drop to third place on the standings.
Alexander Straus’ side have so far given a lukewarm performance having managed two wins from four matches.
Forwards Lea Schüller and Pernille Harder, who are Bayern’s top scorers with two goals apiece, will be tasked with driving the team to a crucial win.
Leipzig, on the other hand, will be looking to bounce back from a 2-0 loss to Wolfsburg last weekend, which saw them slump to 10th place.
Midfielder Vanessa Fudalla, who is club top scorer with two goals, will be expected to lead the team to their second win of the term.
Bayern have collected eight points from three wins and a draw in four encounters whilst Leipzig have recorded just three points from one win in the same number of ties.
Frankfurt will be looking for their second win of the term when they host Duisburg on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts are coming from a nil-all draw with Bayern Munich last weekend whilst the visitors, who are yet to record a win this term, are coming from a 1-0 defeat to SGS Essen last weekend.
German forward Laura Freigang and Austrian midfielder Barbara Dunst, who are Frankfurt’s top scorers with two goals apiece, will be tasked with driving the team to a crucial full set of points come Sunday.
Frankfurt are ninth on the standings on four points from one win and a draw in four contests whilst Duisburg are 11th on one point from one draw from the same number of outings.
Bayer Leverkusen will be looking to keep pressure on the title race early on in the season with a win when they travel to FC Köln on Friday evening.
The visitors will be looking to build on their 3-0 win over Freiburg last weekend whilst the hosts will be looking to bounce back from a 3-0 defeat away to Werder Bremen last weekend.
Leverkusen will unleash Icelandic forward Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir, who is joint-second top scorer in the current Bundesliga campaign with four goals, whilst Köln will rely on German-born Israeli midfielder Sharon Beck and Polish left-back Martyna Wiankowska, who are the club’s top scorers with two goals each, to steer them to their third win of the term.
Leverkusen are fourth on the standings on seven points from two wins and a draw in four ties whilst Köln are seventh on six points from two wins in the same number of encounters.
Eighth place Freiburg will be looking to bounce back from a 3-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen last weekend when they host bottom place Nürnberg on Saturday afternoon.
Freiburg are on five points from one win and two draws in four outings whilst Nürnberg are on zero points from the same number of contests.
Werder Bremen will be looking to make it two wins on the trot when they travel to SGS Essen on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors were 3-0 winners over FC Köln at home last weekend whilst the hosts were 1-0 victors over Duisburg away last weekend.
Werder Bremen are fifth on the Bundesliga standings on six points from two wins in four encounters whilst Essen are sixth on goal difference having recorded two wins in the same number of ties.
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FIXTURES: Friday 20 October, 2023 (18:30) FC Köln vs. Bayer Leverkusen
FIXTURES: Saturday 21 October, 2023 (12:00) Freiburg vs. Nürnberg
FIXTURES: Saturday 21 October, 2023 (14:00) SGS Essen vs. Werder Bremen
FIXTURES: Sunday 22 October, 2023 (14:00) Wolfsburg vs. Hoffenheim
FIXTURES: Sunday 22 October, 2023 (16:00) Frankfurt vs. Duisburg
FIXTURES: Sunday 22 October, 2023 (18:30) RB Leipzig vs. Bayern Munich
All Times are Central European Time (CET)