Men to Play Under the Lights in Leipzig
Union Travel to the Messestadt
1. FC Union Berlin’s men’s first team will face RasenBallsport, under the lights in Leipzig, battling for three crucial points in the fight to avoid relegation. The last encounter, also on a Friday evening, ended 3-1 to Union. Kick off in the former Zentralstadion is at 20:30.
The lie of the land
Leipzig have worked their way impressively out of a difficult early-season, under Ole Werner. With their recent 3-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, the Saxons have secured at least sixth place and, with it, a return to the European stage after a year’s absence.
Union, on the other hand, suffered a narrow 1-2 defeat to VfL Wolfsburg in head coach Marie-Louise Eta’s historic Bundesliga debut. Despite 27 shots on goal – a club record in the Bundesliga – they scored just once, through Oliver Burke. But despite their evident attacking spirit and resilience, it meant Union have now gone four games without a win.
A selection of Marie-Louise Eta's quotes from her press conference on Wednesday afternoon can be found here
Leipzig are on an impressive run with four wins on the bounce. The last time they bettered this was in the final stretch of the 2022/23 season under then-coach Marco Rose, who is set to join Bournemouth FC in England this summer. Back then, their five consecutive wins ultimately secured third place and Champions League qualification.
The chances look good this time, too. With a five-point lead over Hoffenheim, and four games remaining, eight more points would be enough to secure a place in the Champions League.
One of the faces of the season is youngster, Yan Diomande. The Ivorian is making headlines week in, week out, most recently with his spectacular solo run and goal on matchday 30. With twelve goals this season, he is on the verge of breaking Horst Köppel’s record as the youngest Bundesliga player to score 13 times in a season.
Union and Leipzig have faced each other 18 times so far. Union have won seven of these encounters, five of them at the Alte Försterei. Leipzig have won eight times, whilst the other three ended in draws. The clash on 23 April 2022, also on Matchday 31, remains particularly memorable, as the Berliners turned the game around late on through Sven Michel and Kevin Behrens, thereby taking an important step towards Europa League qualification.
It will be a special match for Oliver Burke. The Union player scored in the last game and has been involved in three of Union’s four goals on the counter-attack this season. The Scot is keen to strike again against his former club. He played for Leipzig in the 2016/17 season, scoring once, and providing two assists in 25 Bundesliga matches.
Union's head coach Marie-Louise Eta will be unable to rely on the services of Matheo Raab, David Preu, and Wooyeong Jeong on Friday evening.
Over 4,700 Unioner will travel to the former Zentralstadion. The Union-Fahr-Zeughaus will also be on site. Further information regarding the stadium visit can be found here (german)
The match will be broadcast live in Germany by Sky, with an audio stream on rbb24 Inforadio and on rbb24. Union will provide updates in English on Twitter, and in German via their club's own live ticker. As ever a comprehensive, English match report will be published on the Union website after the final whistle
