On Sunday, 2 March, 1. FC Union Berlin’s men’s team face their next crucial Bundesliga fixture as they host Kieler SV Holstein. Kick off in the Stadion An der Alten Försterei stadium is at 15:30.

The lie of the land

Bottom of the table side, Kiel, will travel to Köpenick in the hope of increasing their dwindling chances of Bundesliga safety, by closing the gap on the non-relegation places. Alongside 1. FC Heidenheim, the team's head coach Marcel Rapp and his players are the only team still waiting for their first three points of the second half of the season. In this period  so far, they have only managed two draws – the 2-2s against Wolfsburg and Bochum - and four defeats.

Union, for their part, are out for redemption after last weekend's resounding 6-0 loss at Borussia Dortmund, looking to build on their strong home defence. With only 11 goals conceded, Frederik Rönnow and Co. have the third-best home record at the back behind Bayern München with nine, and the ten of 1. FSV Mainz 05.

The opponents

As the newest member in German football’s top league, the “storks” have been fighting to stay up since the start of the season. With the exception of match days two and three, when they were ranked 12th and 16th, Kiel have only  ever seen the rest of the league from the bottom of the table. The main reason for this is their away form, with only three points  taken from the last eleven games on the road. Even at home in the Holstein Stadium, they don’t fare much better, where they have the third-worst record with only ten points.

A glimmer of hope lies in the fact that with 34 goals scored, Kiel have the best attack in the lower third of the table and are even on a par with many of those in the upper half. Shuto Machino and Phil Harres are largely responsible for this. Both the five-time Japanese international and the 22-year-old shooting star have already scored seven times this season. Defensively, however, the side from the Hanseatic port have been all at sea, with goalkeepers Timon Weiner and Thomas Dähne having to pluck the ball out of the net 59 times already – the highest number in the league.

The head to head

Sunday will be the tenth time that the two clubs have met in a competitive game. Of the eight previous duels in the Regionalliga Nord and the 2. Bundesliga, Union have won four, Kiel, two and there have been two draws. The last match, their first in the Bundesliga, also went to Union, and was the third 2-0 win in a row between the two teams.

The reunions

Union full-back, Tom Rothe, played a decisive role in the aforementioned first game. On loan from Borussia Dortmund the previous season, he scored the second goal, plunging his former colleagues further into the relegation zone. Prior to that, he had appeared in 35 games for Kiel and played a major role in their promotion, scoring four goals and providing ten assists.

László Bénes also knows them, having played a total of 16 times for Kiel in the second half of the 2018/19 season.

Berlin born Steven Skrzybski, meanwhile, is returning to his old stomping ground. In 18 years at Union, the now 32-year-old played 229 times for various sides, from the youths to the first team.

The personnel

Union's head coach Steffen Baumgart will not be able to call on Oluwaseun Ogbemudia, Aljoscha Kemlein, and Robert Skov on Sunday.

Quotes before the game

“We are playing against a team that have had similar results to us recently,” said Union head coach, Steffen Baumgart, during his pre-game press conference on Friday. “Not all of them positive, but they have been close. They are a team that score a lot of goals but also concede a lot. The important thing is that we want to win at home.”

His opposite number, Marcel Rapp, said meanwhile: “We are fully convinced that we can go to Berlin and get something out of it. The support of the fans is there. We want to go and play a good game.”

Service information

As usual, the Stadion An der Alten Försterei opens two hours before kick-off, the game is sold out in both the home and away sectors.

There are still extensive traffic disruptions in the public transport system, and travel via the ‘Altstadt Köpenick’ tram route is only possible with the replacement service. All fans are therefore advised to arrive early.

The game will be broadcast live on DAZN. In addition, there is an audio stream on rbb24 Inforadio and on rbb24, and, as usual, Union will also provide information on the game on the club's own live ticker, as well as providing live updates in English and Spanish on Twitter.