Wolfsburg in tricky Hoffenheim date as Bayern seek to narrow gap: Frauen-Bundesliga Week 13 Preview

· Former champions Bayern Munich play lowly Werder Bremen away and will look to capitalise and keep pressure on Wolfsburg

· Frankfurt play Freiburg in a match which could prove pivotal in the race for third place

Reigning champions Wolfsburg will be looking to extend their 100% record when they host Hoffenheim in a tricky date at the AOK Stadion on Saturday afternoon.

Effervescent following their 3-0 dispatching of SGS Essen just before the break and their 4-0 win over FC Köln in the DFB Pokal Quarter-Final on Tuesday, the champions will be looking to maintain the gap at the top of the Bundesliga log with a win over Die Kraichgauer whilst the latter will be looking to make it three league wins in a row following their 4-0 thumping of Köln just before the break.

Forwards Ewa Pajor and Svenja Huth, midfielder Julie Brand and defender Marina Hegering were on the scoresheet in Wolfsburg’s 4-0 dismissal of Köln in the DFB Pokal on Tuesday and will — with the exception of Huth who will be absent after receiving a second yellow in Wolfsburg’s 3-0 league win over Essen before the break — be expected to replicate their form in this crucial encounter.

Pajor has scored nine goals in 645 Bundesliga minutes for Wolfsburg — a goal in every 71 minutes — and recorded five assists. The 26-year-old is the top scorer in the current Bundesliga campaign and is second top assist raker on the current Bundesliga assist charts.

The Hoffenheim defence, led by Jana Feldkamp, will also have to be on the lookout for Wolfsburg’s fun-scoring forward Alexandra Popp who is the third top scorer in the Bundesliga with eight goals.

On the other hand, forwards Nicole Billa and Melissa Kössler and utility player Paulina Krumbiegel were on the scoresheet for Hoffenheim in their 4-0 league demolition of Köln just before the break, with Kössler grabbing a brace, and the trio will be expected to replicate that form in this crucial tie.

Wolfsburg sit at the summit of the Bundesliga table on 36 points from 12 wins in 12 outings whilst Hofffenheim are fourth on 23 points from seven wins and two draws in the same number of contests.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich will be looking to keep pressure on Wolfsburg with a win when they travel to Werder Bremen on Sunday afternoon.

The Bavarians will be looking to build on a 3-0 league win over Turbine Potsdam in a rescheduled match last weekend and a 2-0 win over Hoffenheim in the DFB Pokal Quarter-Final on Tuesday whilst Werder Bremen will be looking to make it three wins on the trot following their 2-1 league win over Potsdam on Wednesday in a rescheduled match

Defender Maximiliane Rall and forward Klara Bühl were on the scoresheet in Bayern’s 2-0 DFB Pokal win over Hoffenheim on Tuesday and the duo will be tasked with steering the team to their 11th league win of the term.

Werder Bremen’s defence will also have to be on the lookout for Bayern’s Lea Schüller who has scored seven goals in 766 Bundesliga minutes for Alexander Straus’ side this term — a gaol in every 109 minutes — and is joint-fourth top scorer in the current Bundesliga campaign alongside Eintracht Frankfurt’s Slovenian forward Lara Prašnikar.

On the other hand, midfielders Reena Wichmann and Lina Hausicke were on the scoresheet for Werder Bremen in their 2-1 league win over Potsdam on Wednesday and the duo will be expected to wear their scoring boots again as the team seeks a third win of the season.

Bayern are second on the standings on 31 points from 10 wins and a draw in 12 encounters whilst Werder Bremen are ninth on 10 points from two wins and four draws in the same number of ties.

Freiburg will be looking to keep pressure on champions league places when they travel to Frankfurt on Friday evening.

The visitors will be looking to build on their 4-0 demolition of Carl Zeiss Jena in the DFB Pokal on Tuesday whilst Frankfurt wll be looking to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the league just before the break.

Goals from defenders Judith Steinert and Samantha Steuerwald and forward Lisa Kolb and an own goal from Zeiss Jena defender Denise Landmann secured a 4-0 win for Freiburg on Tuesday and the visiting trio will be tasked with repeating the feat as they attempt to conquer the high Frankfurt mountain.

On the other hand, the visitors will be wary of Prašnikar who has scored seven goals in 12 league appearances for Frankfurt and is joint-fourth top scorer on the current Bundesliga charts.

Freiburg are fifth on the standings on 22 points from seven wins and a draw in 12 contests whilst Frankfurt are third on 26 points from eight wins and two draws in the same number of encounters.

Bayer Leverkusen will be looking to make it two wins on the bounce when they travel to Köln on Sunday afternoon.

The visitors will be looking to build on their 2-0 league win over Duisburg just before the break whilst the hosts will be looking to bounce back from a 4-0 DFB Pokal defeat to Wolfsburg on Tuesday.

Swiss forward Amira Arfaoui scored a brace in Leverkusen’s 2-0 league win over Duisburg just before the break and the 23-year-old will be tasked with steering the team to a crucial sixth win of the term.

Leverkusen are sixth on the standings on 15 points from five wins in 12 outings whilst Köln are 10th on 10 points from three wins and a draw in the same number of ties.

SGS Essen will be looking for a fifth win of the term when they travel to Meppen on Sunday afternoon.

Essen will be looking to bounce back from a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Bundesliga Two side RB Leipzig in the DFB Pokal on Tuesday whilst Meppen will be looking to bounce back from a 3-1 league defeat to Freiburg just before the break.

Meppen will be without defender Kara Bathmann who was shown a second yellow in their 3-1 defeat to Freiburg before the break.

Essen are seventh on the standings on 13 points from four wins and a draw in 12 contests whilst Meppen are eighth, just a point behind, with four wins and eight defeats in the same number of encounters.

Potsdam will be looking for an elusive first win of the term when they travel to Duisburg in a bottom-of-the-log clash on Sunday afternoon.

The troubled visitors, who fired Head coach Sebastian Middeke and replaced him with interim coach Dirk Heinrichs just before their 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich last weekend, have been a pale shadow of their former self, recording 11 defeats this term, but having been champions league contenders last year, eventually losing out to Frankfurt by just three points.

They are 12th on the standings on a single point from one draw in 12 outings whilst fellow strugglers Duisburg are 11th on 10 points from three wins and a draw in the same number of encounters.

Click on a match below to follow it Live! on forzafootball.com and on the Forza Football App

FIXTURES: Friday 03 March, 2023 (19:45) Eintracht Frankfurt vs. SC Freiburg

FIXTURES: Saturday 04 March, 2023 (13:00) VfL Wolfsburg vs. TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

FIXTURES: Sunday 05 March, 2023 (13:00) 1. FC Köln vs. Bayer 04 Leverkusen

FIXTURES: Sunday 05 March, 2023 (13:00) MSV 02 Duisburg vs. 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam

FIXTURES: Sunday 05 March, 2023 (16:00) SV Werder Bremen vs. Bayern München

FIXTURES: Sunday 05 March, 2023 (16:00) SV Meppen vs. SGS Essen

All Times are Central European Time (CET)