A Black and Yellow Saturday at the Alte Försterei
Union to Host Dortmund
1. FC Union Berlin's men's team will play their next home game in the Bundesliga on Saturday when, on the sixth matchday, they host Borussia Dortmund. Kick off at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei is at 15:30.
The lie of the land
With five Bundesliga games played, BVB remain unbeaten having collected 13 points from four wins and one draw. Most recently, they drew 2-2 at home against Werder Bremen, after celebrating victories against TSG Hoffenheim, SC Paderborn, and VfB Stuttgart. But, though Niko Kovač's side travel to Berlin as the second-placed team, they must process a first setback of the season following the 1-0 defeat in the UEFA Champions League against FK Bodø/Glimt.
Union, on the other hand, managed to secure their first Bundesliga victory of the current season last weekend. With the 1-0 home win against SV Elversberg, they now sit in 16th place on four points.
After finishing second last season, Borussia Dortmund are again considered among the title contenders this season. With only four goals conceded so far, they share the title of the best defence in the league with SC Freiburg. At the same time, the Westphalians have also scored eleven goals, giving them one of the most dangerous and varied attacks in the league. Serhou Guirassy, Felix Nmecha, and Fabio Silva have each scored twice.
There was also off-field news this week, as the Westphalians extended their head coach's contract early until 2029. Kovač took over in February 2025, leading them from a poor 11th place back to the top. Notably, he broke their own record for the most points after 50 Bundesliga matches with the best points average of all BVB's head coaches (2.15 points).
Saturday's game is the 16th competitive match between both clubs. Union have managed to win four of those, while BVB have 12. They have never drawn. Notably, all of Union’s victories have occurred on home soil.
For Tom Rothe, it is another reunion with his former club. The right-back transferred in the summer of 2024 from Borussia Dortmund to Union. On the other side, two former Unioners return to the Alte Försterei: Julian Ryerson (2018-2023) and Nico Schlotterbeck (2020-2021).
Union's coaching team will have to do without the services of Stanley Nsoki, Josip Juranović, and Andrej Ilić against BVB.
“The players had a lot of fun during the training week," said Union's head coach, mauro Lustrinelli, in his press conference on Thursday. "For us, it’s now about bringing continuity to the team and getting our game on the pitch. Everyone knows how strong BVB are, so we need a lot of our own energy and a very good performance. It will be another test to see how far we have come.”
The Stadion An der Alten Försterei opens two hours before kick off, the match is sold out in both the home and away areas.
There are still extensive traffic disruptions in public transport and in the stadium vicinity. The underpass Hämmerlingstraße is closed, as well as the Waldweg. The footpath to the stadium runs alongside the sports hall.
There are no parking options available in the vicinity of the stadium.
The match will be broadcast live by Sky and DAZN in Germany, with an audio stream on rbb24 Inforadio and on rbb24. Union will provide updates on the match via the club's live ticker, as well as in English on Twitter. As usual an comprehensive, English-only match report will be published online shortly after the final whistle
There is an open letter to fans from the Police (German)
