As part of the DFB Cup Round of 16, 1. FC Union Berlin will host VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday, 31.01.2023. The match between the two league rivals at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei will kick off at 20:45.

The lay of the land

When the ball rolls with the kick-off, two of the best teams of the 2023 calendar year will play each other. The Eisernen won all three of their competitive matches after the turn of the year and proved their comeback qualities in victories against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and SV Werder Bremen. Last weekend, they also won the Berlin city derby, beating Hertha Charlottenburg 2-0, and VfL's mood would have been almost as good if it hadn't been for last Saturday's 2-1 loss to Werder. Before that, they had two impressive victories in 2023: 6:0 and 5:0 against SC Freiburg and Hertha at the end of the Bundesliga first round.

The opponents

The Lower Saxons are currently seventh in the Bundesliga, but with 29 points are within reach of the top places. That this is no coincidence is shown by the course of the season so far, in which Niko Kovac's team scored a strong 24 points out of a possible 30 between matchdays eight and 17. After having to wait until the sixth matchday for their first win at the beginning of the season, the VfL were able to redeem themselves with a strong first half of the season and can now also show statistically good values. After FC Bayern (16 goals conceded), they have the second-best defence (22 goals conceded) in the Bundesliga together with Union, and the team from the Autostadt is also convincing offensively, boasting the fourth-best attacking line-up with 36 goals scored.

VfL coach Niko Kovac also has a special DFB Cup statistic: the Berlin-born coach has won 21 of 22 matches in the cup so far.

The reunion

When 1. FC Union Berlin and VfL Wolfsburg face each other, there will also be numerous reunions. Currently, four players with a VfL past are under contract in Köpenick: Robin Knoche, Paul Seguin, Paul Jaeckel and winter addition Jérôme Roussillon. Together, the four of them have played a total of 386 games for the Wolves.

The personnel

Only the injured András Schäfer and Morten Thorsby, who is behind in training, are not available to head coach Urs Fischer.

The coach’s views ahead of the game

Urs Fischer warned of a strong opponent in the run-up to the game: "This will be a tough task for us. Wolfsburg are the team of the moment, despite the defeat against Bremen. Overall, they look very compact, united and well organised. Everyone works together according to a plan, plus they have a lot of speed and are not afraid to play the long ball. They have a good mix in their game and do it really well overall."

Visiting coach Niko Kovac is also expecting an intense cup tie: "Looking back, the away game in Berlin was the hardest draw we could have made. There's a great atmosphere in Köpenick, Union has a great team. Urs Fischer and his team do an excellent job, and they do it very consistently and with top structure. Overall, it will be very difficult for us."

Service info

There are still a few remaining tickets available in the seating area on the Union secondary ticket market.

The stadium An der Alten Försterei opens its gates at 6:45 pm. The match will be broadcast live on Sky and, as usual, Union will also provide information on the match in the club's own live ticker.