Matchday in focus: Union Berlin | OneFootball

A closer look at Union, who are set-piece experts and rarely caught out on the counter.

Tactics

“Union aren’t going to start playing tiki-taka,” said Dino Toppmöller, who is well aware his side are facing a very different opponent on Sunday than they did in Amsterdam on Thursday.

Steffen Baumgart’s Union side are a battle-hardened and uncompromising outfit. They are ranked second in the Bundesliga this season in terms of both total distance covered (2,888.9 kilometres) and intensive runs (18,292).

Regardless of whether or not they line up in a 3-4-3 formation as they did in the first half of 2024/25, or in a 4-2-3-1 as they have more recently, their style of play is usually the same.

“Steffen Baumgart’s teams tend to perform in the same way,” said Toppmöller, whose players will likely see more of the ball than they are used to; Union have the second-lowest possession stats in the league this term (42.4 percent).

Absentees

Ellyes Skhiri is suspended due to yellow card accumulation, Timothy Chandler (thigh) and Igor Matanovic (foot) are both out injured, while Robin Koch is rated doubtful following illness. Aurèle Amenda was also recently sidelined with a calf complaint.

For the visitors, Robert Skov (calf), Aljoscha Kemlein (foot) and Oluwaseun Ogbemudia (broken foot) will all be absent.

One to watch: Benedict Hollerbach

Hollerbach is Union’s leading scorer this season with six goals, making him the team’s leading marksman by some distance. The 23-year-old has been on the club’s books since 2023.

Benedict Hollerbach…

Statistics

Eintracht have scored a league-high eight times from counter-attacks.

Union are yet to concede a single goal on the break in 2024/25, also a league best.

The Eagles have only lost one of the nine competitive games against Union at Deutsche Bank Park to date, and have kept clean sheets on the three most recent occasions.

Reunion

Frederik Rönnow made 21 appearances in goal for Eintracht.