Dortmund vs. Union Berlin preview: BVB must win to keep title hopes alive
To have any chance of winning the league, Dortmund must turn around and claim all three points against a dangerous Union side, who are looking to miraculously claim a spot in next season’s Champions League.
| Donyell Malen. | Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Dortmund
BVB’s week couldn’t have gone much worse with poor showings against both Bayern and Leipzig. It’s Edin Terzic's 50th Bundesliga game on the weekend and the task at hand doesn’t get any easier against Union.
Following their DFB-Pokal defeat, CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said, “One must question how this team recklessly tore down eight months of hard work.” Sporting Director Sebastian Kehl added, "This is the worst I've seen from us in a long time. - Now I'm afraid that this will get into our heads."
Dortmund will need to be perfect in league play to finish off the season and hope that Bayern can drop all three points at some point down the stretch.
In his press conference, Terzic commented, "We had two weak performances. Leipzig in particular was disappointing. We looked at things that we urgently need to change in order to perform differently tomorrow. We still have one competition left and we want to play a good role there."
Team News
Nico Schlotterbeck will remain out, while Sebastian Haller, Thomas Meunier and Mateu Morey are all doubtful. Jude Bellingham is expected to return to the starting lineup and Karim Adeyemi will be a squad option following his Pokal suspension.
It’s being reported by Sky that Julian Brandt and the club are nearing a contract extension. Ramy Bensebaini’s summer move is also seen as a “done deal”.
Union Berlin
Following a loss of their own in the Pokal quarter finals this week, Union are now officially removed from all other competitions. This means they can solely focus on the league and secure a spot in the Champions League for the first-ever time.
Union last lost in league play back in February to Bayern and currently maintain an 11-point cushion between themselves and 11th place. Aïssa Laïdouni and Jerome Roussillon should play again on Saturday after both were unused subs midweek.
Urs Fischer still believes his team can improve: “We always have to go to the limit. At the moment, we are simply giving away too many big opportunities. Sometimes the sharpness, compactness and organization are lacking.”
Team News
András Schäfer is still sidelined due to injury, while starting keeper Frederik Rønnow is questionable. If he can’t go, Lennart Grill will feature in goal yet again.