Union Berlin vs. RB Leipzig preview: The game of the weekend
In the marquee matchup of this weekend, Leipzig travel north on Saturday evening to face the best team in the capital.
| Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Union Berlin
European dreamers Union Berlin have a difficult task ahead of them with Leipzig traveling to the capital city. Union were victorious in the Berlin derby on Matchday 1, but struggled to create chances in a scoreless draw against Mainz last weekend.
This is Union’s best ever start to a Bundesliga season and they haven’t lost a game in their last nine league matches. American Jordan Siebatchu pairs with Sheraldo Becker up front, with Freiburg newcomer Janik Haberer shoring things up in the middle of the park.
Coach Urs Fischer added that, "Our start wasn't ideal, but we still have a real task ahead of us…(Leipzig) have a lot of different players on offense who can decide games on their own. Despite that they're on the defensive, well organized and stand very compact.”
Team News
Timo Baumgartl and Fabio Schneider are unlikely to be available for Saturday’s match.
RB Leipzig
Leizpig are waiting for something to kick start their season and one of their newbies could do the trick. David Raum and Timo Werner had some shining moments on Matchday 2, but Leipzig couldn’t escape a decent Köln side with a win.
Manager Domenico Tedesco is still tinkering with the starting lineup, as Hugo Novoa has surprisingly been their right-wing-back and Benjamin Henrichs is in center midfield. There will always be at least one unhappy camper in a squad with such a deep bench, as Josko Gvardiol is set to replace Marcel Halstenberg in defense.
Tedesco stated in his press conference that, "Union aren't doing anything that different this season. They are just as solid as they were in our two games last term. They lost a couple of players in the window, but they have signed players of equal strength."
Team News
Peter Gulacsi is out with an adductor injury that he suffered against Köln, while Dominik Szoboszlai is suspended. Defender Lukas Klostermann and forward Yussuf Poulsen remain out with their respective injuries.