Union Berlin will welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Alte Forsterei Stadium on Sunday in what is a crucial match for both teams.
Union go into the match on Sunday having suffered a narrow two-goal defeat against FC Augsburg last Saturday that’s left them still sitting in 5th and fighting for a European spot.
Despite them being only in fifth a win on Sunday would mean that they could find themselves as high as 4th place, leapfrogging RB Leipzig into a Champions League position instead of a Europa League spot .
Dortmund, meanwhile, go into the match having suffered a disastrous five goal to two defeat against Bayer Leverkusen to increase the gap between themselves and Bayern Munich in first.
Although a win will not have any dramatic changes in terms of where they sit it means they increase the gap between themselves and their rivals challenging for a champions league place next season.
Team news
Union head coach Urs Fischer has only got a few injuries and suspensions ahead of the match on Sunday. Midfield general Rani Khedira is going to miss out due to a suspension following an accumulation of yellow cards, while Julian Ryerson is also set to miss out.
Meanwhile Dortmund head coach Marco Rose has also got a few injury concerns. Defenders Marcel Schmelzer and Mateu Morey are definitely out of the match on Sunday while talismanic striker Erling Haaland might also miss out on Sunday as he continues his recovery from a groin injury.
Predicted Lineups
Union Berlin: Luthe, Baumgartl, Knoche, Heintz, Trimmel, Haraguchi, Prömel, Gießelmann, Becker, Awoniyi, Voglsammer
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Meunier, Akanji, Hummels, Guerreiro, Brandt, Dahoud, Bellingham, Reus, Malen, Hazard
Players to watch
All the way throughout the season Union have had one player that has constantly stood head and shoulders above everyone else and is the reason they find themselves where they are that player is Taino Awoniyi.
Awoniyi is the clubs top scorer this season with 11 goals five goals more than Max Kruse in second. His mix of pace and lethal finishing ability will be absolutely vital for Union if they have any hopes of causing an upset on Sunday afternoon.
While Erling Haaland is grabbing all the headlines with his impressive goal scoring feats one player has gone a bit under the radar and become absolutely crucial to Dortmund’s success and that is Jude Bellingham.
Bellingham has got himself nine assists so far this season three more ahead of everyone else he has also chipped in with four goals so far proving he can score goals as well as create them.
Last time out
The last time these two played each other was an entertaining four goal to two victory for Dortmund.
Dortmund started the match at a rapid pace and took the lead in the tenth minute. Left back Raphael Guerreiro received the ball from midfield on the left hand side of the box before unleashing a venomous strike into the top right hand corner of the goal.
Dortmund then struck again 14 minutes later this time Haaland got his name on the score sheet. Thomas Meunier did brilliantly in the wide position before whipping a dangerous ball into the box that Haaland headed into the bottom right hand corner.
Union then had a glimpse of come back when Kruse put away a penalty after a bad foul from a Dortmund player. However went from bad to worse for Union when Marvin Friedrich managed to turn the ball into his own goal to give Dortmund their third and reduce the chances of any comeback.
Then out of nowhere Union got a goal back through Andreas Voglsammer. Union won a corner and decided to play it short to Niko Giesselmann who put a dangerous cross into the Dortmund box that Voglsammer was able to head into the Union goal.
However Dortmund made the killer blow in the 83rd minute with Haaland getting his second goal of the match. Mats Hummels received the ball in space before passing it to Haaland who’s left footed shot from the left hand side of the box found the bottom right hand corner.
How to watch
Fans in the UK will be able to watch the match from 14:30 pm on sky sports football while fans in the US can tune in via ESPN+