This coming Sunday, 29 October 2023, the professional women's team of 1. FC Union Berlin will play the recently relegated side, 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam II, in the 9th match of their Regionalliga Nordost season. The game, originally to be hosted by Turbine, has been swapped, so will now be a home game for Union. Kick off on Sunday at the Firtz Lesch Sportplatz in Dörpfeldstrasse is at 13:30.

The opponents

Last season, the U20 team of 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam were relegated from the 2. Bundesliga, having finished last in the table. The Brandenburgers had only just returned to the second division in the 2021/22, when they won a close head-to-head race in the Regionalliga Nordost against Türkiyemspor Berlin and 1. FC Union Berlin, before winning the play-off against Hamburger SV. Previously, the Potsdam team played in the 2. Bundesliga without interruption from 2004 to 2021.

Last season was a miderable one for Turbine. At the same time as their second team were relegated, the 1st team, former serial champions and Champions League winners, also had to go down to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time after 29 years in the Bundesliga.

In the Regionalliga, Turbine II are currently in sixth place with ten points after eight games. Thomas Kandler's team, who has been on the sidelines since 2005 and is thus the longest-serving coach in the league, picked up a point last weekend in a 1-1 draw against Bischofswerdaer FV. Prior to that, the Potsdam side were beaten 3-0 at home by Hertha BSC and 4-0 by Türkiyemspor Berlin.

For Union's full-back Pia Metzker, Sunday's match will be a reunion with numerous former team-mates. The 20-year-old played for Turbine's U20 team until last summer and played a total of 51 competitive matches between 2020 and 2023. Numerous other players in the Union squad, including Dina and Katja Orschmann, Maria Christina Lange, Sophie Trojahn and Celine Frank, also laced up their boots for Turbine in the past.

The head to head

So far, the clubs have faced each other 17 times, with the balance clearly in favour of Potsdam, having won 13 times, with three games having ended in a draw and just a single win for Union. That came back in May 2017, with a 1-0 in the 2. Bundesliga.

The last encounter was in August 2021, when the teams met on the first day of the Regionalliga season. Union had taken a 2-0 lead at the Sportforum Potsdam with a double strike within three minutes, but Potsdam managed to turn the game around with three goals after the break.

The personnel

Head coach Ailien Poese will be without five players on Sunday: Maria Cristina Lange, Luca Scheel, Elisa Schindler, Pauline Wimmer, Zita Rurack and Anna Weiß. In addition, Athanasia Moraitou and Defne Sarioglu are on duty with their respective national teams and will also be absent.

The coach's views ahead of the match

"Potsdam are a very young team that continue to develop in every game," said Union's head coach, Ailien Poese, during midweek. "We have used the training week to once again reset after the last match and to try to bring the next the points to Köpenick." 

Service info

Please note the change of venue. The match will kick off at the Fritz Lesch Sportplatz on Dörpfeldstrasse at 13:30.