1. FC Union Berlin will take on Wolfsburg at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei at 15:30 CEST on Saturday as Urs Fischer’s side look to beat the Wolves for the first time in the Bundesliga.
Review:
1. FC Union Berlin followed up on the Maccabi Haifa with an impressive second-half display at Mainz last time out in the Bundesliga. Urs Fischer’s side ended the run of league fixtures before the international break with a 2-1 win at the Carnival Club. Union’s loanee at Mainz, Marcus Ingvartsen, scored after half an hour as the Köpenick club struggled to get to grips with Bo Svensson’s side. The three points were decided on four second half minutes with Taiwo Awoniyi bagging a brace to send Union back to the capital with the points. On 69 minutes, Max Kruse’s telling pass found the Nigerian who held off his marker and fired into the net. Kevin Behrens linked with his strike partner on 73 minutes from a similar situation as the Nigerian, who would receive a call-up to the national team a day later, fired into the net.
Wolfsburg: Opposition Report
With 13 points and three off the top, Wolfsburg have shown their credibility as one of the strongest teams in the Bundesliga under Oliver Glasner. The Austrian has his teams playing solid and consistently in both the Bundesliga and group stages of the UEFA Champions League. But before the Bundesliga paused for a week, Wolfsburg lost in back-to-back matches for the first time since April. Wolfsburg were beaten at Hoffenheim before Borussia Mönchengladbach ran out comfortable winners at the Volkswagen Arena. That said, Wolfsburg will be delighted with their start to the season which gives them a serious shout at European qualification once again.
Wolfsburg: The coach’s view
“Wolfsburg got off to a very good start. I also think they will compete at the top this season. VfL Wolfsburg has players who can decide games and are very robust physically at the same time. It’s a great task for us! I hope we will show our face and that we are willing to extend our winning run at home,” said Urs Fischer in the pre-match press conference.
Personnel
Urs Fischer gave a positive update on central defender Timo Baumgartl who has missed two weeks of training as he recovers from concussion. Baumgartl has trained well this week and is integrated with the team following his time out of action. Pawel Wszolek picked up a knock in the friendly defeat to St. Gallen but is training once again individually.
Service
Information for fans is available here.
An application to the Court of Administration for an increased capacity was turned down. With a crowd of 11,006 expected on Saturday, the match is completely sold out.
The test centre at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei will be open from 7.30am until 3.30pm.