Gladbach vs. Union Berlin preview: Two sides looking to survive

Gladbach

Gladbach have lost consecutive games since beating Wolfsburg 3-1 earlier this month. Gerardo Seaone’s side fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat against Borussia Dortmund, before they lost 4-3 in last Saturday’s away clash with Hoffenheim. Gladbach looked set to take a point off Hoffehiem following Robin Hack’s hat-trick, before Anton Stach netted a stoppage-time winner to leave die Fohlen with nothing to show for their efforts.

Having mustered 31 points from 30 matches, Gladbach head into Sunday’s contest in 12th place and four points clear of the drop zone. They will be determined to secure safety in their final four matches against Union, Werder Bremen, Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart.

Their current focus will be on Sunday’s fixture, where they will attempt to end a three-game winless home run. However, their hopes of claiming all three points will be tempered by the fact they have failed to win seven games against Union (D2, L5). As a result, they are looking to beat die Eisernen for the first time since May 2020.

Team News

Gladbach are expected to be without Jonas Omlin, Christoph Kramer, Tony Jantschke, Max Wöber, Simon Walde and Grant-Leon Ranos. There are also doubts surrounding the availability of Manu Koné, Jordan and Franck Honorat.

Union Berlin

Union will travel to Borussia-Park off the back of three consecutive defeats. Nenad Bjelica lost to Bayer Leverkusen and Augsburg without troubling the scorers, before they fell to a heavy 5-1 defeat in last Saturday’s home meeting with Bayern.

Those losses have ultimately contributed to a four-game winless run, leaving Union without a win since beating Werder Bremen 2-1 on March 16. As a result of their poor form, Union are languishing in 15th place with just two points separating them from the bottom three.

Union’s poor away form is one of the key factors behind their lowly position. Having picked up just nine points from 15 road trips, die Eisernen currently have the third-worst away record in the top flight. They have also won just one of their previous 14 Bundesliga away games.

However, they can draw confidence from the fact they have won each of their last five matches against Gladbach, including a 3-1 in December’s reverse fixture.

Team News

Union are unable to call upon Jakob Busk, while Jerome Roussillon is a doubt due to a muscle problem.