Union Berlin vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach preview: Can Union reclaim top spot?
Union Berlin will look to continue their impressive home form in the Bundesliga when they play host to a Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday.
| Urs Fischer. |
Union Berlin
Union saw a run of five consecutive victories in all competitions come to an end last Sunday when they faced Bochum.
Philipp Hofmann and Gerrit Holtmann gave Bochum a two-goal lead before Milos Pantović missed the chance to score from the spot in the 78th minute, and although the Union midfielder finally found the net in stoppage time, it was too little too late.
However, they returned to winning ways in midweek when they claimed a narrow 1-0 win over Braga in the Europa League thanks to Robin Knoche's second half penalty.
As a result of Thursday's victory, Union have now won six of their last seven competitive games, while they have also recorded five consecutive home victories in all competitions.
Including last season, Union are unbeaten in their previous 11 home league games, and their five home matches in the Bundesliga this term have resulted in four wins and a draw.
Following Bayern Munich's win over Mainz on Saturday, Union will need to claim all three points if they are to move back to the top of the Bundesliga table.
Team News
Urs Fischer will have the majority of his squad to choose from, although Sven Michel and Kevin Möhwald could miss out.
Gladbach
Gladbach will be looking for an upturn in fortunes after winning only one of their last five games in all competitions.
After losing to Darmstadt in the DFB-Pokal, Gladbach would have been aiming to bounce back against Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend. However, Daniel Farke's side were three goals down by half time, and although Marcus Thuram found the net in the second half, Gladbach ultimately fell to a 3-1 defeat.
Gladbach are currently in 10th place, with three points separating them from sixth position. If they are to move up the league table then Gladbach will need to improve defensively after conceding 14 goals in their previous five games.
The visitors are also searching for their first away game of the season, although four of their five away matches have finished all square.
Team News
Gladbach have a number of injury concerns to contend with. Ko Itakura and Florian Neuhaus are both sidelined due to knee problems, while Stefan Lainer, Yann Sommer and Hannes Wolf will also miss out. Meanwhile, Manu Koné will serve a one-match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards.