After an impressive debut season in the Bundesliga 2023/24, Heidenheim's second year in the top flight has proved  a challenging one. The team from Brenz found themselves in the relegation zone early on, even though they started the new season with three wins from the first five matches, as this was followed by a miserable winless streak of ten encounters. Their 2-0 home win against Union broke that streak and provided an important ray of hope.

Also, victories against Kiel and Wolfsburg gave the team renewed momentum, but consistency was hard to find, and occasional crises in form hindered their efforts to escape the drop zone. Things are still tight down near the bottom of the league. Heidenheim are, however, still unbeaten in the Bundesliga against Union and their final opponents, Werder Bremen, with two wins and a draw each. But time is running out, as their lead over a direct relegation spot is only one point, and are five points short of safety.

In 15 games so far between the sides, Union have won four, Heidenheim have won eight and there have been three  draws.

For Union player Tim Skarke, the game against Heidenheim is more than just an ordinary Bundesliga match. The Heidenheim native joined the youth of FCH from TSG Nattheim at the age of eleven, went through all the youth teams there, and made his debut for them in the second division in 2015. In his second appearance, the then 19-year-old scored the decisive goal in the 1-0 victory against MSV Duisburg. In total, Skarke played 70 times for his hometown club before moving to Berlin-Köpenick via Darmstadt and Schalke.

Union's head coach Steffen Baumgart has to do without Diogo Leite, Aljoscha Kemlein, Wooyeong Jeong, and Robert Skov on Saturday. 

“Heidenheim are a team that is still fighting to stay in the Bundesliga," said a cautiously  optimistic Union head coach, Steffen baumgart, on Thursday. "Everyone knows how difficult it is to play against teams that are still in the relegation battle. Furthermore, my colleague Frank Schmidt has been doing a very good job in Heidenheim for many years and will prepare his boys as best as possible for us. Therefore, it is important for us to build on our performances from the last matches and win our home game so that we can expand our positive record. We are hoping for an exciting duel on Saturday."

As usual, the Stadion An der Alten Försterei opens two hours before kick off, the match is sold out in the home sections. 

There continue to be extensive traffic disruptions and on public transport, arrival via the tram lines “Altstadt Köpenick” is only possible with the replacement bus service. In addition, the road bridge over the intersection of Edisonstraße/Treskowallee is closed. All visitors are therefore advised to arrive early.