Matchday in focus: Union Berlin | OneFootball

We shine the spotlight on the club from the capital, who are in mid-table both in terms of the league standings as well as goals scored and conceded.

Tactics

Steffen Baumgart tends to employ a 3-4-2-1 formation, with the Union head coach claiming of his team that “the boys thrive on putting in the hard yards and always wanting more”.

Former Eintracht goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow is Union’s No.1 between the posts and has played in all 20 of the side’s Bundesliga matches so far this term, conceding 33 goals. Baumgart will have to reshuffle his three-man backline though, owing to an injury to Diogo Leite.

Andrej Ilić has recently been given the nod in attack, although he has occasionally been partnered by Oliver Burke in a front two, as was the case against VfB Stuttgart.

Union go into the game in ninth place on 24 points, just three behind the eighth-placed Eagles. 

Absentees

Eintracht are without injured quintet Elias Baum, Can Uzun, Jonathan Burkardt, Younes Ebnoutalib and Michy Batshuayi, while Ellyes Skhiri is unavailable due to suspension. 

Union must make do without Tom Rothe, Josip Juranovic, Leite and Robert Skov.

One to watch: Leopold Querfeld

Querfeld has been a cornerstone of Union’s team at this season. The 22-year-old Vienna native began his youth career at Rapid Vienna, where he rose up through every age category before making his first-team debut in a UEFA Europa League match against Dinamo Zagreb in November 2021. The 1.90-metre centre-back moved to Berlin at the start of the 2024/25 campaign and made his Bundesliga bow in August 2024 against 1. FSV Mainz 05.

The Austrian has played from start to finish in all 20 of Union’s Bundesliga matches so far this term. 

Leopold Querfeld …

Facts and figures

Union are unbeaten on home turf in their last ten Bundesliga Friday-night fixtures, posting eight wins and two draws. Indeed, their only home defeat on a Friday evening was a 2-1 loss to Eintracht on 27 September 2019. 

For the first time in club history, Union have failed to win any of their first five Bundesliga matches at the start of a new year. They come into the meeting with Frankfurt having lost their two most recent league outings; three defeats in a row would be a first for them in 2025/26. 

Seven goals were scored in the reverse fixture earlier this season, more than ever before in a competitive match between these teams.