Bithday Celebrations in the Bundesliga
Union Look to Continue the Run Against Dortmund
After 1. FC Union Berlin celebrated the 60th anniversary of the club together with the fans on Tuesday, the men's team will step out under the floodlights on Saturday evening when they host host second-placed Borussia Dortmund . Kick off at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei is at 18:30
The lie of the land
Dortmund suffered a 0-2 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur during the week meaning they no longer have direct control over qualifying for the round of sixteen of the UEFA Champions League. However, in the league, BVB won the second half of the season opener against FC St. Pauli 3-2) last weekend. They remain unbeaten in their last eleven league matches.
Union, meanwhile, are also unbeaten in their last five Bundesliga encounters, managing to earn a point three times after falling behind. This was also the case on Sunday when substitutes Stanley Nsoki and Wooyeong Jeong combined for a deserved equaliser against Stuttgart in the 83rd minute.
Borussia Dortmund's current season is going significantly better than the last one. One year ago, BVB had 14 points fewer at this stage and finished the first half of the season in tenth place. Now they are second place in the table, having only suffered one league defeat, against Bayern München. They have won eleven games and shared the points six times.
This extraordinary record can be attributed, among other things, to Dortmund's strong defence. After 18 games, Borussia have conceded only 17 goals, the second-best record in the league. The high intensity of their running on the pitch is a key to this success. BVB are third in the league in this respect, and Daniel Svensson alone is the league leader with 1,457 intense runs.
But the Black and Yellows are just as clinical at the other end of the pitch. With 35 goals from 18 games, they have the third-best attack in the league alongside TSG and have scored three goals in each of their last three league games. Dortmund have also scored 19 times in the Champions League – only PSG, Arsenal, and Bayern Munich have scored more often than BVB.
Union and Dortmund have faced each other 15 times so far, of which Union have won four matches, all of them at home. BVB have won 11 times, while none of the encounters have seen the points shared. The two ties in the DFB-Pokal in 2017 and 2019 were won by Dortmund, both times needing more than the regular 90 minutes to determine a winner.
Even though Tom Rothe will not be on the pitch on Saturday, he will be able to greet old teammates. The full-back played from the U19 for BVB before completing 20 matches for the second and first teams before moving to Union in August 2024.
Two of these former teammates are Nico Schlotterbeck and Julian Ryerson. The Norwegian was under contract in Köpenick from 2018 to 2023, scoring three goals and providing assists in 109 matches, celebrating promotion to the Bundesliga along the way. A year after the promotion, national player Schlotterbeck also joined Union on loan, scoring twice from open play before returning to Freiburg and ultimately moving to Dortmund.
Union's coaching staff will have to do without Tom Rothe, Robert Skov, Tim Skarke, and Dmytro Bogdanov due to injuries in the match against Dortmund. Derrick Köhn will also not be in the squad again due to his suspension.
“When the opponent is Borussia Dortmund, then you don’t need to motivate anyone anymore," said Union head coach, Steffen baumgart, during his presss conference on Thursday afternoon. "It’s a floodlight game and also special for that reason. One of the best teams is coming to us with BVB, they have the second-best defence in the league and also have a lot to offer otherwise.”
As usual, the Stadion An der Alten Försterei opens two hours before kick off; the match is sold out in both the home and away sections.
There are still extensive traffic disruptions in public transport, access via the tram routes "Altstadt Köpenick" is also only possible with rail replacement services. All visitors are advised to arrive early – also due to the weather. Further information can also be found in the letter from the Berlin Police.
The match will be broadcast live on Sky in Germany. Additionally, there will be an audio stream on rbb24 Inforadio and at rbb24. As usual, Union will also keep you updated through the club's own live ticker and in English on Twitter. As ever, a full English match report will be published on the club's website after the final whistle.
