On Sunday, 1. FC Union Berlin’s women’s team will travel to play 1. FC Nürnberg. Kick off in the 2. Bundesliga match is at 13:00 in the Valznerweiher Sports Park.

The lie of the land

Having played a game each, the women of 1. FCN can be a little more satisfied with their league start than their guests on Sunday. “Der Club” got began with a 3-1 away win at FC Ingolstadt 04 and are tied with FSV Gütersloh 2009 for first place in the table.

Union meanwhile had to settle for a 2-2 draw against HSV at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. In front of 5,508 spectators - a new attendance record in the women’s 2. Bundesliga - head coach Ailien Poese's team came back from being an early goal down, to lead 2-1 at half-time, before HSV equalised after the break.

The opponents

1. FC Nürnberg had been promoted to the Bundesliga only last season as champions of the 2. Bundesliga in 2022/23. However, the outing was over after just one season and relegation was sealed with just 15 points from 22 games. In addition to promotion to Germany's top division, the DFB Pokal round of 16 appearances in 2019/20 and 2022/23 are among the greatest successes of the women's department at the club.

During intensive summer preparations, they had a training camp at the ‘home ground’ of partner adidas and also played friendlies against Bundesliga clubs Eintracht Frankfurt, losing 0-3, and FC Carl Zeiss Jena, which they drew 2-2, as well as beating Swiss first division club Grasshopper Club Zürich, 1-0.

Another milestone in the club's history was in the merger of the women's and girls' with the men's departments of the football club in November 2022.

The head to head

The two teams have only met once before, when in July 2023, Nürnberg came away from the Alte Försterei with a 3-2 friendly win.

Personnel

Union head coach Ailien Poese will still be without Maria Cristina Lange.

Quotes ahead of the game

“Nürnberg are a strong team in terms of playing and tackling, with good dynamics and lots of changes of pace,” said Union head coach, Ailien Poese, ahead of Sunday’s kick off. “For us, the game is about taking up the fight, creating our own opportunities and, above all, capitalising on them. We are preparing ourselves for an intense and tough game and want to maximise our chances.”

Service information

Kick off is at 13:00 on Sunday at the Valznerweiher Sports Park (Valznerweiherstraße 200, 90480 Nuremberg). Tickets are still available online in the FCN ticket shop and at the box office on site.

The match will be broadcast live on AFTV+ and there will also be a live ticker for the match on fussball.de, as well as updates in English and Spanish on Twitter.