Union Berlin vs. Köln preview: Two struggling sides face off
Two sides battling to remain in the division will go toe-to-toe when Union Berlin play host to Köln on Wednesday.
| Steffen Baumgart. |
Union Berlin
After losing 3-2 to Real Madrid in their final Champions League group game, Union conceded three more goals in Saturday’s meeting with Bochum. Unlike the clash with Real Madrid, they were unable to get on the scoresheet against Bochum, ensuring they fell to a disappointing 3-0 defeat.
As a result of the heavy loss, they are now winless in 10 competitive away matches. Union, who sit just outside the bottom three on goal difference, will now return to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, where they have taken four points from their last two outings in the Bundesliga. After playing out a 1-1 draw with Augsburg, Union went on to beat Gladbach 3-1 in their most recent home game to end their three-month wait for a win.
Although it has been a difficult season for die Eisernen, they will fancy their chances of claiming a victory after winning seven of their last 10 competitive games against Köln.
Team News
Union are expected to be without the services of Robin Gosens and Danilho Doekhi.
Köln
While Köln are level on 10 points with their opponents, they head into the midweek contest in the relegation play-off spot due to their inferior goal difference. After beginning December with a win over Darmstadt and a draw against Mainz 05, Köln were stopped in their tracks by a 2-0 defeat to Freiburg on Sunday.
That result represented the seventh time this season that Köln had drawn a blank in the league - only Union have failed to score in more Bundesliga games this season. However, it is Steffen Baumgart’s side that are the lowest scorers in the league, having registered just 10 goals in their 15 top-flight matches. They have also failed to score more than one goal in any of their seven away league games this season, which is a statistic they will be determined to change on Wednesday.
They will travel to the capital with aspirations of claiming their first-ever Bundesliga win over Union and their first head-to-head victory since winning 2-1 in the second tier in April 2014.
Team News
Leart Paqarada and Sargis Adamyan are ruled out through injury, while Julian Chabot will serve a one-match suspension after being sent off at the weekend.