1. FC Union Berlin are back at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on Saturday as the Köpenick club host Bo Svensson’s Mainz.
Review — The last match:
1. FC Union Berlin suffered a 0-1 defeat at Arminia Bielefeld last Saturday. The Köpenick club lost for the third successive game as Urs Fischer’s team struggled to find the killer instinct in front of goal. Patrick Wimmer hit the post after 11 minutes, but Union came back into the game. Stefan Ortega made a sharp block against Taiwo Awoniyi while a cross from Sheraldo Becker was headed wide by Sven Michel. Union’s new number 10 passed up a chance in the second half before Bielefeld broke through. Masaya Okugawa scored after 53 minutes, shooting past Andreas Luthe from inside the box to give the home side all three points.
Mainz — Opposition Report:
Bo Svensson lifted Mainz out of relegation difficulty last season and made the Carnival Club one of the in-form teams of 2021. Mainz have continued that progress and share the same number of points as 1. FC Union Berlin (34). Union and Mainz both share primary targets of maintaining their Bundesliga position beyond this season. Marcus Ingvartsen, on loan from Union to Mainz, scored the winner last time out as Svensson’s side performed a sensational turnaround against Bayer Leverkusen and win 3-2. Mainz are three games in the Bundesliga without defeat.
Mainz — The coach’s view:
Urs Fischer: “Mainz’s last game against Leverkusen was great, turning the result around with a goal at the end. They never give up until the last minute. It’s a robust and strong team with good organisation and compactness. They have a very strong transition game, as well as speed. They are aggressive on second balls. It’s a very difficult match.”
Personnel:
Keita Endo and Andras Schäfer are unavailable for selection due to injury. Dominique Heintz trained Thursday with the team for the first time. Fischer said he was “cautious” and will wait until the end of the final training session.
Service:
The match will go ahead under 2G-Plus rules in front of a maximum of 10,000 supporters at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.
Control bands can be picked up in advance. All stadium info can be found here.