Bayern Munich vs. Union Berlin preview: Leaders looking to remain unbeaten
Bayern Munich
After collecting 20 points from eight matches, Bayern are sitting at the top of the Bundesliga table and level on points with second-placed RB Leipzig. The Bavarians kicked off their league campaign with three consecutive victories before they played out back-to-back draws against Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Vincent Kompany’s side have since returned to winning ways to record two dominant league victories. They swept past Stuttgart via a 4-0 scoreline, before cruising to a 5-0 win over Bochum, which proved to be a perfect response to their Champions League defeat against Barcelona. The Bavarians produced another dominant performance in midweek, with Jamal Musiala netting a hat-trick alongside a Leroy Sane effort to secure a 4-0 win over Mainz in the DFB-Pokal.
After easing into the last 16, Bayern will now turn their focus back to Bundesliga action. They will certainly fancy their chances of claiming all three points after winning five of their previous six matches against Union, including each of their last three.
Team News
The hosts are unable to call upon Sacha Boey, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Josip Pavlovic and Hiroki Ito. Meanwhile, Vincent Kompany has revealed Bayern will make a late decision on Dayot Upamecano and Eric Dier’s availability.
Union Berlin
Union will head into the weekend in fourth position after making a positive start to life under Bo Svensson. The former Mainz boss has seen his Union side win four, draw three and lose just one of their eight league games this season.
After losing to Borussia Mönchengladbach in September, Union have gone on to put together a three-game unbeaten run in the league. They recorded back-to-back wins over Borussia Dortmund and Holstein Kiel, before they played out a 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend.
Unfortunately for die Eisernen, they were unable to carry their league form into Wednesday’s Pokal tie with Arminie Bielefeld. Marius Wörl and André Becker grabbed a goal apiece to condemn Union to a 2-0 defeat, ending their hopes of enjoying a cup run. After losing to a third-division club, Union will have to improve if they are to trouble a free-scoring Bayern side.
Union will enter Saturday’s contest with hopes of claiming consecutive away league wins for the first time since January/February 2023. However, it will take something special for die Eisernen to clinch all three points because they are still searching for their first-ever Bundesliga win over Bayern, having failed in their nine previous attempts (D3, L7).
Team News
The visitors are expected to be without the services of Yannic Stein, Lucas Tousart and Josip Juranovic.