Four months after they met at the start of the 2024/25 season in the DFB Pokal, on Sunday, 15 December 2024, the women's team of 1. FC Union Berlin will face FSV Gütersloh 2009. Kick off at the Tönnies Arena in Rheda-Wiedenbrück is at 14:00

The lie of the land

FSV Gütersloh 2009 recently suffered two bitter defeats in the 2. Bundesliga. Before the international break, they suffered a surprising 6-0 home defeat against bottom of the table FC Ingolstadt 04. Then, last weekend, the East Westphalia team showed a great improvement against league leaders 1. FC Nürnberg, having gone into the lead thanks to a goal in the first minute of the game, but Der Club turned the game around in the second half and scored winner in the 82nd minute to make it 2-1.

Union, meanwhile, drew 1-1 with rivals VfL Bochum on the final home matchday to consolidate their second place in the table. Pia Metzker put the Köpenickers in front after 22 minutes, but Bochum struck back just seven minutes later. In the final stages of the game, Union were frustrated by their own inability to convert numerous chances, and had to be content with the point.

The opponents

In Gütersloh, Union will face a long-standing member of the 2. Bundesliga. Since the league was founded in 2004, the club have played in the second division in 20 of 21 seasons. Furthermore, Gütersloh have topped the all-time 2. Liga table since 2023. Last season, they finished in 7th and were considered one of the favourites to be promoted this season.

So far, however, Gütersloh has proven to be something of a bag of surprises in the league. With 13 points from twelve games, the team of coach Daniel Fröhlich, who took over last summer, are currently sitting in 10th place. In particular, their defence is problematic. While the club are among the top half of the table in front of goal having scored 19 times, FSV have been the most vulnerable side in the league at the back with 31 goals conceded. In addition to the big loss against Ingolstadt, lost 5-1 against SV Meppen, 5-2 to the bottom-placed team FC Bayern München II, and 6-0 on the first match day against Hamburger SV. On the other hand, they did come back from that with a 5-1 win against VfL Bochum, who are currently in fourth place, on the second matchday.

With eight goals this season, FSV Gütersloh's Jacqueline Baumgärtel is joint-top scorer in the league, along with Medina Desic of 1. FC Nürnberg.

The head to head

FSV Gütersloh have won all four previous league meetings between the two sides, however, the Berliners celebrated their first victory against FSV in the DFB Pokal four months ago. In a hard-fought first-round tie, the game went into extra time with the score at 2-2. In the end, Union goalkeeper Cara Bösl became the hero of the evening, saving two penalties. Katja Orschmann scored the decisive last penalty for Union.

The personnel

Union head coach Ailien Poese will have to do without Maria Cristina Lange, Katja Orschmann, Sarah Abu Sabbah, Eleni Markou and Ginger Schulz on Sunday.

The coach’s views ahead of the game,

“Gütersloh are a very compact, but also determined team that have not been able to reach their full potential in some of the matches in the first half of the season, but they are always very dangerous and aggressive in duels. For us, it's about being consistently solid in defence and in the tackle, creating and taking chances to go into the winter break with three points.”

Service information

Unlike the Cup match in August, the game will not be taking place at the Ohlendorf Stadium, but on the artificial pitch at the Tönnies Arena in Rheda-Wiedenbrück. Tickets are available online or on the gate.

The game will be broadcast live and free of charge on Sporttotal. There will also be a club-owned live ticker for the game, as well as offering live updates in English and Spanish on twitter.