On Sunday, 1. FC Union Berlin’s men’s team will meet SG Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga’s 8th matchday. Kick off in the An der Alten Försterei stadium is at 17:30
The lie of the land
Eintracht will be travelling to Köpenick with mixed feelings, especially after last week’s narrow 2-1 loss at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface first missed a penalty, before Omar Marmoush equalised from the spot. But the Werkself struck back, first, through former Unioner Robert Andrich, before Boniface scored the winner for Leverkusen with around 15 minutes left on the clock. On Thursday, they played in the UEFA Europa League against Latvian side, FK Rigas Futbola Skola, winning 1-0 thanks to a goal from Hugo Larsson.
Union, on the other hand, won 2-0 at Bundesliga newcomers Kieler SV Holstein. Aljoscha Kemlein scored his first ever senior goal for the club, joined by Tom Rothe with his second for Union, who now have 14 points after seven matches.
The Opponents
Following in the footsteps of Klaus Toppmöller, who unexpectedly lead Eintracht to be top at Christmas in 1993, his son Dino has now been in charge on the Frankfurt sidelines for a year and a half. In his first year as head coach (previously an assistant coach), he led the team to 6th and qualification for the UEFA Europa League.
Currently, Frankfurt are back in 6th with 13 points. In their first seven games, they won four, drew 3-3 against record champions FC Bayern München, and have only lost to Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund. The Eagles have scored 15 goals so far, conceding 11.
One name that keeps appearing on the list of Frankfurt’s goalscorers is Omar Marmoush. The Egyptian has impressed in all competitions, playing a part in 31 goals in his last 36 Bundesliga appearances and is currently the leading scorer in the German top flight with nine goals in seven games.
The head-to-head
1. FC Union Berlin and SG Eintracht Frankfurt have met 18 times, ten times in the Bundesliga, six times in the 2. Bundesliga and twice in the DFB Pokal. Union have only won three of those, while Frankfurt have emerged victorious ten times. Five meetings have ended in a draw, including the last clash (0-0 in Frankfurt).
The personnel
Union’s head coach Bo Svensson will have to do without Josip Juranovic, Lucas Tousart and Yannic Stein in Sunday’s clash.
The reunion
Union keeper Frederik Rönnow was under contract at Eintracht from 2018 to 2021, making 21 appearances for them in all competitions.
The coaches’ views ahead of the game
“It’s no secret that we have a top opponent in our stadium,” said Union’s head coach, Bo Svensson, during his press conference on Friday afternoon. “They had a difficult opening programme, but have a good structure in their game and attacking players in their ranks that are among the best in our league. Therefore, it will be a big task that we want to master in the best possible way.”
His opposite number, Topmöller, meanwhile had this to say of his side’s tough trip on Sunday:
“Union are back to being Union under Bo Svensson. It will be a very intense game. We can expect a lot of duels on Sunday that we will have to accept. At the same time, we want to bring our footballing quality to bear.”
Service information
As usual, the Stadion An der Alten Försterei will open two hours before kick-off. The game is sold out in both the home and guest areas. All visitors are strongly advised to arrive early due to significant restrictions on public transport and the closure of Bahnhofstraße at S-Bhf. Köpenick. Further information on this, as well as a fan letter from the police, can be found here (German).
The game will be broadcast live on DAZN. In addition, there will be an audio stream on rbb24 Inforadio and on rbb24. As usual, Union will also provide information on the game via the club’s own live ticker, as well as in English and Spanish on Twitter.