1. FC Union Berlin will be looking to fight back from defeat in Rotterdam when they face VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Sunday October 24 at 17:30.
Review – The last match:
Union went down on MD3 of the Europa Conference League 3-1 at Feyenoord. Despite Taiwo Awoniyi pulling one back towards the end of the first half, the Dutch side were in a two-goal lead through Alireza Jakhanbahksh and Bryan Linssen. Luis Sinisterra added a third to leave Union bottom of Group E after three matches in the competition. A week ago, Union extended the unbeaten home run in the Bundesliga to 21 matches with a 2-0 win over Wolfsburg. Urs Fischer’s men were fortunate to go into the interval at 0-0 after Lukebakio hit the post from a few yards out. But Union battled back into the game, showing character and determination to get the points. Awoniyi scored his sixth Bundesliga goal of the campaign on 48 minutes before Sheraldo Becker came off the bench to make another impact and score the second of the afternoon.
VfB Stuttgart – Opposition Report:
In their second season back up in the Bundesliga, VfB Stuttgart are finding their feet early in the campaign. Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side play expansive and attacking football with 13 goals scored in eight matches – one more than Union. The Swabians are unbeaten in three with some strong results, including a 3-1 win at home to Hoffenheim on October 2. Last week, Stuttgart picked up a point at Borussia Mönchengladbach with Konstantinos Mavropanos opening the scoring. The Greek defender scored in the victory over Hoffenheim with Omar Marmoush playing a key role in the side from a creative perspective.
VfB Stuttgart – The coach’s view:
“Stuttgart have a great and young squad. They have a good mix of robustness and a team that also looks to play. Especially the wide players are very fast and always try to go one on one,” said Urs Fischer at the pre-match press conference on Saturday.
Personnel
After his positive test last week, Marvin Friedrich is still in quarantine. Similarly, Rick van Drongelen is recovering in isolation following a positive result. Urs Fischer has the rest of his squad to pick from on Sunday.
Service
For the match at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, 600 away tickets have been sold. There is no opportunity to purchase tickets at short notice.
Stuttgart are operating on a 2G basis, meaning supporters will need to provide proof of full vaccination or recovery from Coronavirus.