Match Preview: Bayern Munich vs. Manchester United Women
t’s been a difficult few weeks for Manchester United Women, but the Reds have the chance to put those results behind us and reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals for the first time, on Wednesday. Marc Skinner’s side take on German champions Bayern Munich in the second leg of our quarter-final tie, looking to overturn a 3-2 deficit from last week’s well-contested first leg at Old Trafford. The rematch will be played at Bayern’s magnificent Allianz Arena, with kick-off at the earlier time of 17:45 BST.
Former Bayern midfielder Julia Zigiotti is available to return for United, after missing Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City as she served a one-match suspension in the Barclays Women’s Super League. Head coach Marc Skinner may provide further concrete updates on his squad when he conducts his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, which you will be able to see here in the United App and on ManUtd. com.
Elisabeth Terland, our top scorer this season with 15 goals, was also absent for the derby at the weekend as she is managing a knock. Layla Drury’s introduction as a substitute meant she became the youngest player to feature in a WSL Manchester derby at 16 years and 289 days, but she is not currently registered to play in the Champions League. Leah Galton, Dominique Janssen, Anna Sandberg, Ella Toone and Ellen Wangerheim have all been sidelined of late, while Celin Bizet Donnum remains unavailable while she is expecting a baby.
Bayern, meanwhile, made seven changes for their weekend win over Nurnberg, affording a lighter load to several stars of their first-leg success last week. That included Pernille Harder, who scored twice at Old Trafford before being brought into the game as a 72nd-minute sub on Saturday. Klara Buhl, Jovana Damnjanovic, Anna Klink, Katharina Naschenweng, Lena Oberdorf, Alara Sehitler and Sarah Zadrazil didn’t make the trip to Manchester or play on their return to league action.
BAYERN REPORT The Bavarians are coming into Wednesday’s second leg on the back of the aforementioned 2-0 triumph over Nurnberg in the Frauen-Bundesliga. After a goalless first half, Edna Imade struck within 60 seconds of the restart to set Bayern on their way to an 18th successive league victory, before Natalia Padilla Bidas completed the scoring with 10 minutes to go in normal time. Jose Barcala’s team are now 13 points clear of Wolfsburg at the top, and needs just one more win to secure their fifth league title in six years, once the domestic season resumes after the upcoming international break.