On the 13th match day of the women’s Bundesliga, there are two direct duels in the relegation battle. And it’s derby time in Cologne.
MSV Duisburg – Turbine Potsdam (Sunday, 1 p.m.)
For the first time this season, before the match day, MSV is where the turbine has been for months: a relegation zone. The fact that Nico Schneck’s team has so far been able to avoid the bottom of the table is due to the interim efficiency in front of the goal, Duisburg has the lowest Expected Goals-value of the league (5.2) and clearly exceeds it with the number of goals scored (9).
In a test match against Borussia Bocholt at the end of last week, there was a 3-0 win against the regional league teams, but according to Schneck, he was not satisfied afterwards due to careless ball losses and missed great opportunities.
Things look even bleaker for Turbine Potsdam, who were also unable to score in the catch-up game against direct competition from Bremen, even though the goalless series ended. After this game, Potsdam no longer have many chances against other teams from the lower region of the table, and there is a risk, at least emotionally, of a preliminary decision in the fight against relegation.
1. FC Cologne – Bayer Leverkusen (Sunday, 1 p.m.)
1. FC Köln made an exclamation point during the week with the announcement that they want to play the game against Eintracht Frankfurt on April 23 in the large Cologne stadium. The club wants to set a new attendance record for a German league game. So far, the 23,200 who came to the season opener in Frankfurt. The FC is not just about the number: “We want to make Cologne and FC a place of longing for all young football players on this day.”said Vice President Carsten Wettich.
From a sporting point of view, the results were missing recently, the last win came at the end of October and there was no surprise in the cup against the expectedly strong Wolfsburg women. Maybe the derby will come at just the right time. However, during the international break, the staffing situation has eased a little, even if Ivana Fuso is out of the game against Duisburg due to her knee injury. This means that Leverkusen is missing an important, technically adept player.
SV Meppen – SGS Essen (Sunday, 4 p.m.)
After an interim high due to the bitter 6-1 defeat in the cup against RB Leipzig, the favorite for promotion to the second division, SGS Essen has come back down to earth. After conceding the first goal, the team fell apart, the positional play was wrong and the women from Leipzig had a clear path.
The last time there was such a disastrous performance was the 6-0 defeat against Leverkusen at the end of October. After the last appearances in the league, the SGS thought they were in good shape, but the away game at SV Meppen will be a nerve test in the relegation battle. When they met in the first half of the season, Essen narrowly won 1-0.
Werder Bremen – Bayern Munich (Sunday, 4 p.m.)
The women from Munich haven’t really got going after the late start this year. The results are correct, but the appearance in the cup against Hoffenheim was not as sovereign as the self-image would suggest. Especially since Linda Dallmann took a syndesmosis ligament rupture from this game and is therefore out for the rest of the season.
On the other hand, there was a long-awaited comeback during the week, as Werder goalkeeper Lena Pauels was in the 2-1 win over bottom-placed Turbine Potsdam in a Bundesliga game for the first time since September 2021. Bremen are not in a relegation zone for the first time since the third matchday and have already scored four goals after the winter break – before that there were only six in total.