Following three successive matches on the road, 1. FC Union Berlin return to familiar territory on Saturday at 15:30, taking on German champions Bayern Munich.
The 10th game of the campaign and Union’s third home meeting with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga will go ahead with 16,509 fans at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. The game goes ahead with 3G health and safety regulations in place — proof of vaccination, proof of recovery or a negative rapid/PCR test.
Review — The last match:
1. FC Union Berlin booked their place in Sunday’s DFB Pokal last 16 draw with a 3-1 win at Waldhof Mannheim after 120 minutes. Patrick Glöckner’s team knocked Eintracht Frankfurt out in Round 1 with a surprise 2-0 win at the Carl-Benz-Stadion, and the home side on Wednesday started all guns blazing. Alexander Rossipal fired home after four minutes as Union were immediately put on the back foot. A good combination between Sheraldo Becker and Andreas Voglsammer created an opportunity for Kevin Behrens to thump in the equaliser after 18 minutes. The match took on the nature of a classic cup tie with Union dominating more and more as the 90 minutes progressed and Mannheim ran out of energy. Despite missed chances, the game went to extra-time. Taiwo Awoniyi came off the bench to score after 94 minutes to essentially knock the stuffing out of Mannheim. Behrens scored late on to secure a place in the last 16 of the Cup for the first time in two seasons.
Bayern Munich — Opposition Report:
Julian Nagelsmann, Bayern Munich’s head coach, won’t be at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Saturday to watch the German champions look for their first victory in Köpenick with fans in the stadium. The league-leaders from Munich went out of the German Cup in dramatic fashion in midweek, losing 5-0 to Borussia Mönchengladbach. However, Nagelsmann’s side have led the race for the title throughout the campaign with 22 points from nine games. Bayern are one point ahead of Borussia Dortmund and six points better off than Union who occupy fifth in the Bundesliga. Despite Nagelsmann’s absence, Bayern ran out 4-0 winners last weekend in the Bundesliga at the Allianz Arena against Hoffenheim. Serge Gnabry, Robert Lewandowski, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Kingsley Coman scored the goals — demonstrating the variability of Bayern’s attacking and goalscoring options.
Bayern Munich — The coach’s view:
“Difficult challenge against one of the best teams, if not the best. It’s on us to bring our best performance. We did that well in Stuttgart and in phases in Mannheim. Certainly we need that over 90 mins. If not, very difficult,” said Union coach Urs Fischer.
Personnel:
Urs Fischer told the press that Max Kruse left training and went to the clinic for further treatment. The coaching team are waiting on further information from the experts. Otherwise, Union have a complete squad to choose from.
Service:
Here is the general stadium information for fans.
Supporters can collect 3G wristbands at club stores to obtain quicker entry. More info here.
The German Red Cross vaccine bus will be on site at the Alte Försterei Test Centre, which is also open from 07:30 for necessary testing.
We expect 1,500 away supporters and all fans should download the Luca App before entering the stadium for health and safety reasons.