Union Berlin vs Augsburg – Preview, H2H, Line-ups, Prediction | Bundesliga 2022-23

Bundesliga DFL adjusts new rule for substitution
Bundesliga DFL adjusts new rule for substitution

Union Berlin will look to bounce back from their third league loss of the season when they welcome Augsburg to the capital this Wednesday. 

Venue: Stadion An der Alten Försterei (Berlin)

Key Statistics

Union Berlin have lost two of their last three league games.

The hosts have won their last six home games in all competitions.

They have kept five clean sheets in their last six home games. 

They have won just one of five prior home H2Hs against Augsburg (D3, L1).

The visitors are winless in their last six league games (D2, L4).

They have lost their last two away games.

Augsburg have not kept a clean sheet in their last seven games in all competitions. 

They have scored first in each of their last five games but won none of them (D1, L4).

No team in the division has committed more fouls than Union (268) and Augsburg (266) so far this season.

Head to head

Augsburg are unbeaten in five of their six Bundesliga meetings with Union, including the last four (W3, D2, L1). 

Latest performances in all competitions

Union Berlin: L-W-W-W-L

Augsburg: L-L-D-L-L

Union Berlin

After 12 weeks of joy, it has begun to turn sour for Urs Fischer and his overachieving Union Berlin side in the Bundesliga.

The hosts have enjoyed a remarkable season so far, running shoulders with Bundesliga giants and leading the league last after 12 weeks thanks to a return of 26 points from their first 12 games.

However, they were shot from the table last weekend when they were trashed 5-0 by Xabi Alonso’s struggling Bayer Leverkusen side. The win was their third defeat of the season and their second in the last three games (W1) having also suffered a loss to lowly Bochum recently.

And so, they come into this tie in danger of seeing all their fine work this season thrown into the mud unless they can get back to winning ways. If the capital club are to prove their early season Bundesliga pace-setting wasn’t a fluke, they must bounce back here and continue to build on what has been their best-ever Bundesliga start after 13 games (W8, D2, L3).

Urs Fischer might be relieved to be back in action at home, where they’re still unbeaten this term in the league (W5, D1). However, his side have only won one of their last five home H2Hs against Augsburg (D3, L1). 

To improve that record, they must get their defending right and ensure they don’t fall any further off the pace at the Bundesliga summit, with Union still the third-best defence despite the recent drubbing by Leverkusen.

Possible Union starting line-up

Lennart Grill; Danilho Doekhi, Diogo Leite, Robin Knoche, Christopher Trimmel; Genki Haraguchi, Janik Haberer, Rani Khedira; Julian Ryerson, Sheraldo Becker; Sven Michel.

Injured: András Schäfer, Frederik Rønnow, Kevin Möhwald

Doubtful: None 

Suspended: None

Augsburg 

Despite the form of Union Berlin, Augsburg’s form doesn’t suggest that they are capable of getting a good result at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei.

The visitors have endured mixed results in the league this season and so come into this tie sitting in-between mid-table and the relegation zone. Currently sat in 14th place with a three-point cushion ahead of the drop zone, they know that they cannot afford any further slip-ups if they want to remain in the top flight beyond this season.

Augsburg come into this tie winless in six (D2, L4) after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt; a game which saw them score the Bundesliga’s fastest goal of the season at that point (30 seconds), only to fade as the match went on.

How they will cherish the upcoming FIFA World Cup break which will allow key players to return from injury in time for the Bundesliga’s resumption. Yet in the meantime, they need to try to avoid going three league away games without a win (L2) for the first time since February.

But that might prove tricky to achieve given the hit-and-miss nature of their Bundesliga away form this term (W3, L3).

Possible Augsburg starting line-up

Rafal Gikiewicz; Fredrik Jensen, Maximilian Bauer, Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, Iago; Mads Pedersen, J. Baumgartlinger, Arne Maier, Ermedin Demirovic; F. Niederlechner, Mërgim Berisha.

Injured: Tobias Strobl, Arne Maier, Niklas Dorsch, Raphael Framberger, N. Sarenren-Bazee

Doubtful: None 

Suspended: Nome

Prediction

Union Berlin 2-0 Augsburg