Union’s Women Travel to Nürnberg
The Year Ends as the Second Half of the Season Begins
Four days before Christmas, the 1. FC Union Berlin women’s team will start the second half of the Google Pixel Women's Bundesliga season on Saturday when they face 1. FC Nürnberg. Kick off at the Max-Morlock-Stadion is at 14:00
The lie of the land
The three games since the international break have been a rollercoaster for Nürnberg. Their 2-0 away defeat at then-bottom-of-the-table SGS Essen was followed by a spectacular 5-3 win in a rescheduled game against Eintracht Frankfurt. Last weekend, however, the club came unstuck, losing 6-1 in Wolfsburg.
Meanwhile, Union continued to build confidence with a 2-2 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, a game in which they twice came from behind. Samantha Steuerwald and Jenny Hipp scored their first goals in the Union shirt.
Following promotion, 1. FC Nürnberg can reflect on a successful first half of the season. With 15 points from 13 games, the Franconians are 9th in the table, with a comfortable eight-point cushion above the relegation zone. In addition to victories against direct rivals Jena (3-2) and Hamburg (2-1), they have also managed two wins against teams from the upper half of the table. On matchday 7, they beat SC Freiburg 3-2, before the aforementioned spectacle against Eintracht.
With 18 goals, coach Thomas Oostendorp's side have the second-best attack in the lower half of the table after RasenBallsport Leipzig (20). Leading the way is striker Nastassja Lein, who has scored seven and provided five assists, giving her direct involvement in two-thirds of all their goals – no other player in the Bundesliga has a higher ratio. The 24-year-old, who shone in the second division last season with 14 goals and 12 assists, is one of the three best scorers in the league, ahead of big names such as Nicole Anyomi (11), Selina Cerci (11), and Lineth Beerensteyn (9).
FCN are, however, are vulnerable and have the second-weakest defence in the league with 33 goals conceded. They were the only Bundesliga club not to keep a clean sheet in any game in the first half of the season.
After three competitive matches, 1. FC Nürnberg are still waiting for their first win against Union. In the 2. Liga, they drew 0-0, before Union won the return match 4-0. In the Bundesliga opener in September, it looked for a long time like Union would win thanks to a goal from Lisa Heiseler, but the visitors equalised in stoppage time to make it 1-1.
Nele Bauereisen moved from 1. FC Nürnberg to 1. FC Union just over a year ago. Between summer 2021 and January 2025, she played 60 competitive games for the club, scoring twelve times. Saturday will see her return to the Max-Morlock-Stadion for the first time.
Union’s coaching team will have to do without the services of Anna Aehling, Hannah Eurlings, Korina Janež, Leonie Köster, Mariann Noack, Tanja Pawollek, and Tomke Schneider on Saturday.
“Nürnberg changed their game a little during the first half of the season and were successful in many situations. We want to take on this challenge and prepare well to end the year on a high note,” said Union head coach Ailien Poese, looking ahead to the last game of the year.
Tickets for the game are available from the 1. FC Nürnberg ticket shop. Block 25d is designated for away fans. A ticket office will be open on site until 30 minutes before kick-off.
The game will be broadcast live on Magenta Sport and DAZN in Germany. Union will provide live updates on the game via the club's own live ticker, as well on twitter in English. As ever a comprehensive English match report will be published on the Union website shortly after the final whistle.
The match will be broadcast live on Magenta Sport and DAZN. Additionally, Union provides updates on the match events in their club's live ticker.
