The FC Bayern women will want to prove their big ambitions against reigning champions FC Arsenal. With a win they will overtake England in the table.
11/11/2025 | 0:37 min
Coach José Barcala looked relaxed as he walked towards the dressing room after his team won 4-0. The Galician isn’t the type to indulge in over-the-top celebratory poses, but he didn’t want to hold back his big smile. The Bayern women’s team confidently beat the newly promoted Union Berlin and left the English Bundesliga women’s week with three wins and a goal of 14:1.
A tailwind that Barcala and his team can really take advantage of. The reason is, on Wednesday (18.45) a much more difficult opponent, Arsenal FC, awaits at the Munich Arena.
We have prepared well, the win has given us confidence.
Jose Barcala
Bayern is under pressure against the defending champions
Bayern’s big Champions League ambitions of reaching at least the semi-finals were dealt a major blow at the start of the new season when FC Barcelona’s players showed their limits in a 7-1 defeat.
Bayern coach Jose Barcala has problems with the defensive line-up.
Source: action press
After a 2-1 win against Juventus Turin and a run of consecutive wins in the league, this failure could be considered just a mistake. But: A match against defending champions Arsenal will show how good the Munich team is in an international comparison of top clubs.
Bayern are eighth in the Champions League table, with the top twelve reaching the next round. The pressure is there.
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Arsenal are fourth in the Women’s Super League, the Premier League, and are full of top players, including multiple European champions such as Leah Williamson, Chloe Kelly and Alessia Russo, as well as Spanish world champion Mariona Caldentey. Arsenal has one of the best offenses in the league, but also has several injured players.
Bavaria must change its system
Maybe there will be no goal festivals like those celebrated by Bayern against Essen, Nuremberg and Union Berlin against Arsenal. The England team led by coach Renée Slegers will try to maintain control of the game and put Bayern under pressure.
The offensive style of play they have recently shown could be the downfall of the German champions.
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In addition to attacking with wingers Linda Dallmann and Klara Bühl, dangerous midfield director Pernille Harder and striker Jovana Damnjanovic, Barcala started with Georgia Stanway and Momoko Tanikawa in defensive midfield.
He also made this position very offensive, because Japanese players are considered creative and forward-looking players. In the match against Essen he made a mistake which resulted in conceding a goal.
Barcala said afterwards:
He must learn to act like a defender.
Coach José Barcala on Momoko Tanikawa
Bayern is running out of players
The problem: Barcala does not have the ideal player left in the six-man squad. Stanway’s colleagues in this position, Sarah Zadrazil and Lena Oberdorf, were both sidelined for long periods with torn ligaments. Recently, Arianna Caruso from Italy has played more often in the sixth position.
He returned from an injury break and sees his role as more of a central and attacking midfielder. However, based on his experience, Barcala will most likely rely on him.
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The remaining options, Alara Sehitler, who prefers to play further forward, and Barbara Dunst, who has not been fit for 90 minutes after recovering from a ligament injury, are not ideal solutions.
Barcala have recently not ruled out a change in system with a three-man defensive chain and central defenders switching to six players. However, the coach will have to be creative to achieve the desired victory against Arsenal.
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