Union Berlin v Stuttgart preview
Union Berlin can claim a third consecutive home victory in all competitions with a win on Saturday, but in their way is a Stuttgart side who will be rejuvenated following a superb comeback victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach last weekend.
| Taiwo Awoniyi. |
Union Berlin
Union have had a tough time of late, losing four of their last five league matches. Despite experiencing a poor run of results, Union are still in the hunt for the European places, as they enter the weekend in seventh place.
Die Eisernen have proven to be a tough team to beat on home turf, having lost just two home league games this season. Defensively, Union have been solid at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, keeping five clean sheets in their 12 home Bundesliga matches. Impressively, Urs Fischer's side have conceded two or more goals in just two of their home league games this season.
After scoring nine league goals in the first half of the season, Taiwo Awoniyi has found the net in just one of his six Bundesliga appearances in 2022. Meanwhile, the hosts will be forced into a goalkeeping change with Frederik Rønnow set to replace Andreas Luthe who is in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19. Kevin Behrens, Levin Öztunali and Genki Haraguchi are also ruled out following positive COVID-19 tests, while injury issues will prevent Keita Endo and András Schäfer from taking part.
Stuttgart
Stuttgart have renewed hope that they beat the drop after they overcame Gladbach in extraordinary circumstances last weekend. Trailing by two goals after 35 minutes, it seemed as though Pellegrino Matarazzo's side were heading to yet another defeat. However, Wataru Endo's goal before the break offered Stuttgart a lifeline before Chris Führich restored parity just six minutes after the restart. With the contest heading towards a draw, Saša Kalajdžić sparked pandemonium at the Mercedes-Benz arena, when he guided the ball home to seal a phenomenal comeback victory.
Still occupying a place in the bottom two, Stuttgart's challenge is to start stringing victories together as they bid to avoid relegation and after enjoying home comforts last weekend, they now head to the capital for Saturday's contest.
Matarazzo will be fully aware that his side have struggled on their travels this season, with Stuttgart holding the joint second-worst away record in the Bundesliga. Their sole away league win this term came against Wolfsburg, with Stuttgart collecting just one point from their five away Bundesliga matches since that win.
If Stuttgart are to win on Saturday then Kalajdžić will be a key figure, having scored two goals in his last three appearances. On the injury front, the visitors are without the services of Lilian Egloff, Silas, Nikolas Nartey and Mohamed Sankoh.