Union Berlin vs. Stuttgart preview: Union aren’t out of the title race quite yet
With Bayern and Dortmund battling each other on Saturday, Union have a great chance to improve their standing in the league against last-place Stuttgart.
| Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Union Berlin
Union have struggled to score goals of late with three put away over their last five league games. Still, they are 3rd in the table which is an unbelievable achievement for a club that’s been in the first division for just a couple of seasons.
Jordan is struggling to produce offensively and has only scored one competitive goal in 2023. Kevin Behrens and Sheraldo Becker will likely pair together up front, but only if Becker can overcome an illness.
In his press conference, Urs Fischer mentioned that, "We first tried to shut down a little during the international break. In the second week, we worked on things that we haven't had time for in the last few weeks. It was about getting the basics back into your head."
Team News
Andras Schäfer is still out, while Becker’s status is up in the air.
Stuttgart
Stuttgart have only won once since the new year and haven’t fared any better under Bruno Labbadia. It looks like the board are planning to stick with him until the end of the season, but it’s safe to say that morale is low.
Pascal Stenzel will return from injury this weekend, but Stuttgart are struggling to find consistent creativity on the offensive end. Tiago Thomas and Gil Dias could start on the wings from the off, but they only have three league goals between them this season.
Labbadia stated, “We need to be up for the fight. Physicality, challenges, patience, efficiency and concentration are required against Union. We can’t afford to give away much and need to be patient – but we also want to play football and attack them.”
Team News
Striker Serhou Guirassy remains unavailable for Stuttgart, who are badly missing his presence up front. Silas is questionable as well.