Union Berlin vs. Augsburg preview: An outside chance of European qualification | OneFootball

Union Berlin

Union enter matchday 34 in 12th place in the Bundesliga table after winning nine, drawing nine and losing 15 of their 33 matches this season. Last weekend, Die Eisernen ended a six-game winless run with a 3-1 success against Mainz 05. The two sides looked set to play out a 1-1 draw at the Mewa Arena until Oliver Burke and Josip Juranović scored two late goals to seal the first win of Marie-Louise Eta’s interim tenure.

Eta will now oversee the final game of her temporary spell in charge before she starts her new job as head coach of Union’s women’s team. The 34-year-old will be aiming to lead the men’s side to back-to-back league victories, something Union have not achieved since December. 

However, their hopes of claiming maximum points may be tempered by the fact they have not beaten Augsburg at home since recording a 2-0 victory in January 2020. 

Team News

The hosts enter the final matchday without Frederik Rønnow, Matheo Raab and David Preu due to injury. Meanwhile, Derrick Köhn is suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards.

Predicted lineup: Klaus; Trimmel, Doekhi, Leite, Rothe; Khedira, Kemlein; Burke, Ansah, Burcu; Ilić

Augsburg

Augsburg are sitting in ninth spot after winning 12, drawing seven and losing 14 of their 33 league games this season. The Fuggerstädter have put together a six-game unbeaten run since losing three consecutive matches in March. In fact, they have taken maximum points from their previous four games, including back-to-back 3-1 victories against Werder Bremen and Borussia Mönchengladbach in their last two outings. 

As a result of those victories, Augsburg head into matchday 34 with an outside chance of ending their 11-year wait for European football. That is because they are a point adrift of Eintracht Frankfurt and two points away from seventh-placed Freiburg, who currently occupy the Conference League qualification spot.

Manuel Baum’s will snatch seventh spot if they beat Union and both Freiburg and Frankfurt fail to win their respective games. A draw would make matters difficult because it would require several factors to go their way in the other two matches. 

Augsburg have fared reasonably well in recent away games against Union, having avoided defeat on their last five trips to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei, including a 2-0 success in last season’s away meeting. 

Team News

Augsburg are unable to call upon the injured duo of Dimitrios Giannoulis and Arthur Chaves, while Kristijan Jakić will serve a one-match ban for an accumulation of yellow cards. 

Predicted lineup: Dahmen; Matsima, Gouweleeuw, Zesiger; Wolf, Massengo, Rieder, Fellhauer; Kade, Kömür, Gregoritsch