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Moldova
After last Sunday’s defeat in Leverkusen, 1. FC Union Berlin will look to shake themselves off immediately with the last Bundesliga home game of an astonishing year. On Wednesday, 09.11.2022, the Eisernen will play host to FC Augsburg. Kick off in the Alte Försterei is at 20:30.
The opponents
Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 are currently in 13th place in the Bundesliga, though currently are without a win in five Bundesliga games. Indeed, 2022/23 has been a mixed bag for them. After a shaky start with only one win in their first five matches (having lost the other four), the club’s form then picked up. They went on a run, beating Werder Bremen, FC Bayern München and FC Schalke 04, before picking up a point against at home against VfL Wolfsburg.
Head coach Enrico Maaßen, who moved from Dortmund’s second team at the beginning of the season, has mostly used a 4-4-2 with two holding midfielders, but he has also relied on a back three. So their variability is one of their strengths, and to be expected.
Statistically, the Augsburg team have the worst passing rate in the entire league, with only 69.1% of passes finding their target. Maaßen’s team are also rather profligate in front of goal, with only 133 shots all season, the worst in the Bundesliga. The Bavarian club are however top in cards recieved, with 39 cautions, two of which lead to reds, which testifies to a certain robustness on the pitch. With 184 fouls, they are also leading the league.
The head to head
Of the six previous meetings between the clubs in the top flight, Augsburg have proved a bit of a bogey team for Union, who have won only one of them (at home in 2019/20). There have been two draws and three Augsburg victories.
The reunions
Rafal Gikiewicz, who made a total of 75 appearances for Union in the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, and was beloved in Köpenick for his eye-popping heroics between the posts, has been in goal for Augsburg since the summer of 2020, but only celebrated his comeback from injury last weekend in the home loss against Eintracht Frankfurt. Meanwhile Rani Khedira will see some of his former team-mates from his time there, having played 127 times in four years for FCA.
The personnel
With the exception of the injured Frederik Rönnow and András Schäfer, head coach Urs Fischer has the entire squad at his disposal.
The coaches’ views ahead of the game
Partly, with an eye on those stats, Urs Fischer is expecting an intense duel. “Augsburg are extremely aggressive when playing against the ball,” he said. “FCA are very physical when attacking, and like to go into challenges for the second ball. So I expect a tough match, but we want to show a reaction after the game on Sunday.”
“Union are a very stable team, they defend compactly and wait for their moments, so we have to be very efficient with our chances,” said Maaßen. “Against Union we need an absolute top performance, we have to be ready, from top to bottom. Everyone will have to do their job perfectly.”
Service info
The stadium An der Alten Försterei is sold out. Union members have one last chance to buy tickets at the official secondary ticket market. The stadium gates open at 6:30 pm. The match will be broadcast live on Sky and, as usual, Union will also provide information on the match via the club’s own ticker, as well as in English on twitter.
