Crucial Bundesliga Tie on Easter Sunday
Union's Men to Host St. Pauli
1. FC Union Berlin's men's first team will face FC St. Pauli on Sunday in the Bundesliga's matchday 28. It could prove a decisive duel for both sides, with Union looking to take a step towards league safety in front of their home crowd, while the Hamburg team urgently needs points in the relegation zone. Kick off in the Stadion An der Alten Försterei is at 15:30.
The lie of the land
FC St. Pauli went into the international break on the back of a bitter disappointment. At home against the Europa League quarter-finalists SC Freiburg, the Kiezkicker led 1-0, before former St. Pauli player Igor Matanovic turned the match around with a late brace. The Hamburg side have been stuck in sixteenth place since the 25th matchday.
Union are seven places higher up the table, but recently had to take a 4-0 defeat away against FC Bayern München. Before that, Steffen Baumgart's team fought for an important 1-0 away victory in Freiburg.
A look into history shows that, for the fans of FC St. Pauli, the Alte Försterei has been a difficult trip for years. Their last away win dates back to October 2011, back when they were both still in the 2. Bundesliga. Earlier this season, Union won 1-0 at the Millerntor, with Rani Khedira scoring the only goal of the day.
However, as in their 1-0 win over Hoffenheim, Pauli have already shown that they can spring a surprise away from home. After that, however, they had a goalless draw against Frankfurt and losses against Gladbach and Freiburg and, with 27 games played, they have had six wins, six draws, and 15 losses.
What has cost them particularly is their weakness in front of goal. With only 24 goals scored, Pauli have the least dangerous attack in the league, certainly a major reason for their precarious situation.
So far, there have been a total of thirty competitive matches between the clubs. Union have won fourteen, St. Pauli ten, and there have been six draws. In The Bundesliga, Union have won 1-0 twice, and lost 3-0 once
For two Unioners, the match will be a reunion. Aljoscha Kemlein wore the brown and white of Pauli during the second half of the 2023/24 season, making a significant contribution to their promotion in his 17 appearances. Tom Rothe was trained in their academy between 2018 and 2021 before moving to Borussia Dortmund.
Union's coaching staff will have to manage without the services of Matheo Raab and David Preu on Easter Sunday.
“FC St. Pauli have been close to taking something tangible from all their previous matches," said Union head coach, Steffen Baumgart, during his press conference on Friday afternoon. "They have won against Bremen and Hoffenheim, and also led for a long time against Freiburg recently. Both teams are fighting to stay in the league. We want to increase the gap; for that, we need to do our homework, but they will approach the challenge just as seriously. In the end, what will matter is who wants it more on Sunday. We want to be as successful as possible, and we have been preparing for that all week.”
His opposite number, Alexander Blessin stated: “There are seven finals left, and we cannot afford any more slip-ups. We have a tremendous opportunity because we still have to play against the direct competitors ahead of us. Our boys are willing to go through fire.”
As usual, the Stadion An der Alten Försterei will open two hours before kickoff. The match is sold out in both home and away sections.
There are still significant disruptions to public transportation; travel via the “Altstadt Köpenick” tram lines is currently only possible via rail replacement service. All visitors are therefore advised to arrive early.
Due to restricted access to the forest path on Hämmerlingstraße, we recommend using the path along the Hämmerlinghalle and the parking lot.
Further information can be found in the fan letter from the Berlin Police (German).
The match will be broadcast live in Germany by DAZN, with an audio stream on rbb24 Inforadio and on rbb24. Union will provide german updates on the match via its club's live ticker, and in English on Twitter. As usual, a comprehensive, English-only match report will be published on the Union website shortly after the final whistle.
