Europe: Champions League
FT
2 - 3
(2 - 1)
Union Berlin
Braga
S. Becker (30), S. Becker (37)
S. Niakate (41), Bruma (51), Castro (90)
By Rune Gjerulff@runegjerulff

Union Berlin vs. Braga preview: Team news and predicted lineups

Here is our preview of Tuesday's Champions League group stage clash between Union Berlin and SC Braga, including predicted lineups.
Urs Fischer.
Urs Fischer.Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0
After suffering a late 1-0 defeat to mighty Real Madrid in their Champions League debut at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Union Berlin will play their first home game in Europe's top club competition when they host SC Braga on Tuesday evening.

Union moved their Champions League home games from the Stadion An der Alten Försterei to the Olympiastadion, where local rivals Hertha BSC usually play, because of its much larger capacity.

And with the game set to be played in front of a sell-out crowd of 74,000, Union Berlin coach Urs Fischer is hoping the home support will help his players end a miserable five-game losing streak in all competitions.

"Our confidence is not that high at the moment. That's when you need the twelfth man," said the Swiss coach, referring to the home crowd.

"It's clear that there is a certain amount of uncertainty. It would be important to get a point."

Union will still be without centre-back Robin Knoche, defensive lynchpin Rani Khedira and central midfielder Andras Schäfer, but Kevin Volland, who was suspended for Saturday's 1-0 loss to Heidenheim, is back in the squad and in contention to start.

Like Union, Braga lost their first Champions League match, 2-1 to Napoli, but have since won domestic games against Boavista and Estrela. With the exception of Victor Gomez, Braga have all their players available for the match.

The two teams met in the Europa League group stage last season, with each team winning at home.

Click here to see our predicted Union Berlin vs. Braga lineups.

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