Union Berlin will look to end their four-match winless run in the Bundesliga when they host defending champions Bayer Leverkusen.
Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen will be looking for their sixth league win when they hit the road to face Union Berlin, who have not been at their best of late.
The home team are tenth on the table with 16 points in their 11 outings thanks to four wins, four draws and three defeats. Bo Svensson’s men have had a mixed start to the new campaign and haven’t won any of their last four league games.
The team from Berlin suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Wolfsburg in their last outing. While Die Eisernen did have their chances, they were not clinical enough. They will have to be at their best to ensure they stand a chance against Alonso’s men.
Bayer Leverkusen ran riot in the Bundesliga last season as they won the title without suffering a single defeat. But, Die Werksel have not been at their best this time out. The visitors are fourth with 20 points in their 11 outings thanks to five wins and as many draws.
After playing out three draws in a row, they returned to winning ways against Heidenheim and managed to build on it with a massive 5-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg. Now, they will be looking to retain a top-four spot with a win here. The Hard Tackle takes a close look at both teams and tries to predict the tactics they could use.
Team News & Tactics
Union Berlin
The home team will be without the services of Andrej Ilic, Diogo Leite, and Yannic Stein. Apart from the trio, everyone else is expected to be fully fit to take part in this fixture.
Union Berlin will go ahead with the 3-4-3 formation, where Frederik Ronnow will be in goal. The back three will be made up of Danilho Doekhi, Kevin Vogt, and Leopold Querfeld. Christopher Trimmel and Tom Rothe will feature as the wing-backs providing support to the back three.
In the centre of the park, Aljoscha Kemlein will start alongside Rani Khedira. The duo will try to ensure that the visitors do not end up dictating the tempo of the game. Jeong Woo-yeong and Benedict Hollerbach will feature on the flanks for the home team. The duo will provide the width to their attacks while Jordan Pefok will lead the line for Union Berlin against Bayer Leverkusen.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Ronnow; Doekhi, Vogt, Querfeld; Trimmel, Kemlein, Khedira, Rothe; Jeong, Pefok, Hollerbach
Bayer Leverkusen
With Amine Adli, Victor Boniface, Jonas Hofmann, and Martin Terrier all unavailable, Xabi Alonso could be forced to make a slight technical adjustment to his system for this fixture. The visitors could go ahead with the 3-5-2 formation instead of the usual 3-4-2-1 setup.
Lukas Hradecky will start in goal for the away side. The back three will consist of Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah, and Piero Hincapie. They will look for a clean sheet and will receive support from Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo, who will feature as the wing-backs.
In the centre of the park, Granit Xhaka will start alongside Robert Andrich and Aleix Garcia. They will look to dominate the possession and dictate the pace. In attack, Florian Wirtz should partner with Patrik Schick.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Andrich, Xhaka, Garcia, Grimaldo; Wirtz, Schick
Key Stats
- Union Berlin have been winless in their last five matches across competitions and the last four in the Bundesliga.
- The home team have conceded just nine goals so far making them the division’s joint second-best defensive team.
- Bayer Leverkusen have only lost one out of their last five matches on the road.
- Bo Svensson’s team have been unbeaten at the Stadion An der Alten Forsterei in the 2024-25 season.
- The team from Berlin have the second-worst offensive record having scored nine goals.
Player to Watch
Patrik Schick
While the 28-year-old has only had limited game time so far this season, he still has eight goals and an assist to his name. Given the kind of impact he has had in just 666 minutes of first-team action, Schick will surely be the one to watch out for in this fixture, especially amid rumours he wants to become the undisputed first-choice striker wherever he plays at the club level.
Prediction
Union Berlin 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen
The home team have not been at their best for a while now, and they are unlikely to get the better of Bayer Leverkusen, who recently returned to winning ways and built on it with a massive 5-0 win in their European outing earlier this week.
Xabi Alonso’s charges should dominate the proceedings at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei, and they should eventually come out on top here. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 win for the away team.