Preview: Union Berlin vs. Borussia Dortmund
kicker 2024/10/04 08:42
Nuri Sahin's Borussia Dortmund will look to pick up their third win in a row when they travel to face Union Berlin on Saturday at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei in the Bundesliga.
After five league games, the home side are in ninth place with eight points, while Dortmund are in fifth place with 10 points after five matchweeks and are three points from first-placed Bayern Munich.
Match preview
Union Berlin lost 1-0 against Borussia Monchengladbach in their last match on September 28, a game in which they produced no big chances, had just 36% possession and conceded the winner in the 96th minute.
Manager Bo Svensson felt aggrieved with the officiating during his side's loss and criticised the length of time added on at the end of the second half but also said that his team defended the goal poorly.
To Svensson's credit, his team's defeat last Saturday was the first time they lost in the last seven games, a period in which they won four and drew two.
While the hosts boast the second-best defensive record in the division considering they have only conceded three goals, they have worryingly only scored on four occasions, the joint fewest in the league.
Union Berlin have won each of their last three games at home in the Bundesliga by a margin of one goal, though prior to these wins they lost the previous three at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei.
Opponents Dortmund brushed off their disappointing 5-1 defeat against Stuttgart on September 22 with a 4-2 victory against VfL Bochum on September 27 and a 7-1 win against Celtic in the Champions League on October 1.
Sahin's side were drawing 1-1 with Celtic after nine minutes, but Dortmund headed into the half-time interval leading 5-1.
Karim Adeyemi netted a first-half hat-trick and helped ensure that his team won their second game of their 2024-25 Champions League campaign.
Sahin insisted that BVB's 7-1 win has to be the benchmark for his team moving forward and contrasted their performance on Tuesday with their defeat against Stuttgart.
Dortmund have now scored 24 times and conceded on seven occasions in their eight competitive matches this season, though they have only produced the sixth highest xG tally of the Bundesliga's 18 top-flight sides.
BVB have a poor away record in the league in recent matches given they have lost three and drawn one of their last four games, scoring just twice and conceding 12.
Union Berlin possible starting lineup:
Ronnow; Doekhi, Vogt, Leite; Haberer, Schafer, Khedira, Rothe; Jeong, Hollerbach; Jordan
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Couto, Anton, Schlotterbeck, Ryerson; Can, Gross; Gittens, Brandt, Duranville; Guirassy
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Bundesliga
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Borussia Dortmund
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Union Berlin
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