A Timely Revenge?
Union Hunting Their First Bundesliga Points in Heidenheim
1. FC Union Berlin's men's team will travel south this Saturday to play 1. FC Heidenheim 1846. Kick off in the Voith-Arena is at 15:30
The lie of the land
Neither Union nor Heidenheim will be lacking motivation on Saturday, with plenty at stake for both sides. A win for the former would prove a big step towards league safety, while the latter are running out of chances to stay up in the top flight, themselves.
With now 16 points, Frank Schmidt's side have been sat at the bottom of the table since matchday 19, but have at least managed two important draws recently; the 3-3 at home against Bayer 04 Leverkusen and the subsequent 2-2 at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Schmidt's opposite number, Union's head coach Steffen Baumgart, had mixed feelings after the 1-1 against FC St. Pauli calling it, "a partial success, nothing big, but also nothing small. It brings us a little closer to our goal."
Despite those two points gained in the recent matches, a clearer picture is emerging around the Voith-Arena; in the third year of Bundesliga history for the club, relegation to the second division is looming. While this was avoided in the 2024/25 season during the Relegation play-off against SV Elversberg, it currently seems closer than ever. They are nine points behind the play-off spot, have the weakest attack in the league (29 goals), and the joint most porous defence (63, with VfL Wolfsburg).
Despite all the problems and uncertainties in the current FCH season, one constant remains, coach Frank Schmidt. In charge since September 2007, he is set to face his 740th competitive match on Saturday.
There have been 17 competitive matches between the clubs, with the record clearly favouring Heidenheim. FCH have ten wins, Union four, and three matches have ended in a draw. An incentive to improve this statistic from the Union perspective may be the result from earlier this season when, on matchday twelve, FCH snatched a victory that seemed almost certain for the home team with two late goals (90th and 90th+5).
A homecoming awaits Union's Tim Skarke this weekend. Born in Heidenheim an der Brenz, the forward played 70 matches for FCH after progressing through all the youth teams in Heidenheim. There, he will see his former colleague Mikkel Kaufmann. The Dane, a 19-time Union player, is now in his second season in Baden-Württemberg.
Union's coaching staff will have to do without the services of Matheo Raab and David Preu on Saturday.
“There are teams that suit you better and then there are teams that suit you less. Frank always manages to prepare his team well for the opponent, they never give up and have a strong character. You could also see that in the recent games. To win, we need to deliver a top performance for more than 90 minutes, but in the end, we are already going to Heidenheim to achieve a successful result,” said Union head coach Steffen Baumgart during his press conference on Thursday afternoon.
The match will be broadcast live in Germany by DAZN and Sky with an audio stream on rbb24 Inforadio and on rbb24. As usual, Union will also provide updates on the match in English on twitter, and in German via the club's own live ticker. A comprehensive, English-only match report will be published on the Union website shortly after the final whistle
About 2,000 Unioner will accompany the team to Heidenheim this weekend, and the Union-Fahr-Zeughaus will also be on site. Information about attending the stadium can be found here.
