Union Berlin vs Borussia Dortmund

Stadion An der Alten Försterei is the venue as Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund go head-to-head in an exciting Bundesliga encounter.

Union Berlin’s improvement under new manager Nenad Bjelica continued last weekend with a 2-2 draw against Heidenheim, accounting for their 18th point in 11 league matches under the Croatian coach (W5, D3, L3). By contrast, they only accrued one point from ten top-flight outings before his appointment, testifying to Bjelica’s exemplary work in the capital. To maintain their uptick in form, ‘Die Eisernen’ will probably rely on their defensive resilience, as evidenced by the fact that 80% of their Bundesliga victories under their current boss have come ‘to nil.’ But with three of those five triumphs yielding a narrow 1-0 scoreline, avenging back-to-back H2H league defeats against Dortmund would probably produce a tepid contest.

In the meantime, Borussia Dortmund’s top-four pursuit took a tumble last weekend as they wasted a 2-1 halftime lead in a 3-2 home loss to TSG Hoffenheim, allowing fifth-placed RB Leipzig to reduce the gap to a single point ahead of this round. Now winless in three of their last four league games (D2, L1), Edin Terzic’s men are back on the road, where they’ve only suffered one defeat this Bundesliga campaign (W4, D6). Defensively robust, ‘Die Borussen’ have kept a clean sheet on three of their last four top-flight travels (W2, D2), a feat they’ve only managed once on four previous Bundesliga visits to Union Berlin. Considering they conceded 2+ goals in all three other away H2Hs, their defensive solidity will face a stern test.