Away in Köln
Union's Women Look to Return to Winning Ways
On Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga's matchday six, 1. FC Union Berlin will travel to play 1. FC Köln. Kick off in the Franz-Kremer-Stadion on Sunday is at 18:30.
The lie of the land
1. FC Köln's game last weekend against local rivals Bayer Leverkusen, was abandoned after 41 minutes due to a floodlight failure. The disappointment was doubled, as they had gone a goal up after only 26 seconds. Having lost all three of their league matches at the start of the season, Köln eventually got their first points with a win over SGS Essen.
Union lost to SC Freiburg 0-3 on Sunday after three consecutive wins. With seven points from the first five matches and seventh place in the table, as well as reaching the DFB Pokal round of 16, Sunday#s guests have still enjoyed a successful start to the season so far.
1. FC Köln have been able to shed the image of a yo-yo club in recent years. Having bounced between the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga every year from 2015 to 2021, Köln have now successfully maintained their league status for four seasons. In the last two, they finished in tenth place.
This summer, Köln signed primarily experienced players and, behind FC Bayern, have the second oldest squad in the league. Four of those new signings are 29 years or older, including three former German internationals, goalkeeper Lisa Schmitz (33), forward Pauline Bremer (29), and center-back Marina Hegering (35), who also immediately took over the captaincy.
One factor for Hegering's move to the cathedral city may also have been head coach Britta Carlson. The 47-year-old has been on the sidelines in Köln since January this year having previously worked as the assistant coach of the German national team from 2018 to 2024. Hegering played all her 42 international matches during that time.
For Köln's co-trainer, Sven Gruel, the match on Sunday will have a special meaning. The 31-year-old was active in the same position at Union for nearly two and a half years from 2022 to 2024. During this time, they achieved promotion to the 2. Bundesliga.
Union's coaching staff will have to do without the services of Alma Aagaard, Anna Aehling, Nele Bauereisen, Hannah Eurlings, Leonie Köster, Tanja Pawollek, Naika Reissner, Fatma Şakar, and Judith Steinert on Sunday.
"Köln are an established Bundesliga club that have impressed me both in terms of their fighting spirit and play in the early games of the first half of the season. We want to present ourselves as a united front and throw everything we have at it to be successful." said Union head coach Ailien Poese ahead of the match.
Köln's winger, Anna Gerhardt, is also looking forward to the game on Sunday: "It's cool for the entire league that such ambitious clubs are now involved. Union are a traditional club and naturally have a fan base. It will be a cool game because two such clubs are meeting, but we clearly want to keep the three points at home. And I think we have a good chance of that."
Tickets for the match are available in the ticket shop of 1. FC Köln. Additionally, the mobile Zeughaus will be present on site.
The match will be broadcast live on Magenta Sport and DAZN. In addition, Union will provide information about the game via the club's own live ticker (German), as well as updates in English on Twitter.
