Union Berlin vs Bayern Munich

Stadion An der Alten Försterei sets the stage for an exciting Bundesliga showdown between Union Berlin and Bayern Munich.

After years of gradual improvement, it’s been a season of decline for out-of-sorts Union Berlin. Despite the team’s resurgence on the back of Nenad Bjelica’s appointment as the new chief of staff, back-to-back league losses in the build-up to this clash leave the hosts vulnerable to relegation from the Bundesliga. Only three points clear of the bottom three, ‘Die Eisernen’ return to home turf, where they’ve lost twice in their last three top-flight matches (W1), failing to score in both defeats, including a 1-0 loss to newly-crowned champions Bayer Leverkusen in their most recent such outing. However, Bjelica’s men will draw confidence from not losing two consecutive home games in the Bundesliga since November and holding Bayern to two draws in their last four H2Hs at this venue (L1).

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich’s comfortable 2-0 home win against Cologne last weekend wasn’t enough to keep them competitive in the Bundesliga title race as they surrendered their 11-year dominance of German football. But Thomas Tuchel’s side made amends for their humiliating domestic season in midweek Champions League action, beating Arsenal 1-0 in the return leg of their quarter-final tie to book a semi-final date against Real Madrid. For a team of Bayern’s stature, a run of just one win across their last seven competitive away matches must be unacceptable (D2, L4), especially as one of those four defeats came against Bundesliga debutants Heidenheim on their most recent league travel. On the upside, the Bavarians have won six of their seven away league games against bottom-eight opponents.