Union keen on three successive Bundesliga victories as Frankfurt visits.

2024-10-21

In a Bundesliga showdown, Union Berlin aim to extend their flawless home record to four straight wins as they host Eintracht Frankfurt, who are eager to rebound from their recent league setback, at the iconic Alten Försterei.

FC Union Berlin

Union Berlin recently celebrated a 2-0 away win against Holstein Kiel, marking back-to-back victories. In this match, Aljoscha Kemlein, an academy graduate, opened the scoring, becoming the first from the academy to score in the league. Tom Rothe then sealed the win with a late header against his former club, securing Union's first away league win of the season.

This victory positioned them in fifth place with 14 points, reflecting their second-best start to a Bundesliga season, following their performance in 2022-23. Despite this strong start, manager Bo Svensson remains focused, reminding everyone, "We've played just seven games, and our focus is on the next one."

Union Berlin will face Frankfurt in their week eight Bundesliga game, aiming for a third consecutive league win. They will draw confidence from their excellent home form, having won all three of their home league games this season. A win this weekend could see them record four consecutive home victories for the first time in a top-flight campaign.

However, Union's unimpressive head-to-head record against Frankfurt raises concerns. They've won only three of their 11 encounters with the visitors since returning to the Bundesliga in 2019 and have not scored in their last three meetings. The team is expected to adopt a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Yorbe Vertessen leading the attack.

Eintracht Frankfurt

Frankfurt are coming off the back of a hard-fought 1-0 victory over RFS in the UEFA Europa League. After a lacklustre first-half performance, the breakthrough came thanks to Hugo Larsson, who scored the winning goal eleven minutes from time.

‘It was rather a collective problem; we were too sluggish in our passing game,’ Toppmöller remarked, criticising his team’s first-half display. In the Bundesliga, however, the Eagles suffered a 2-1 loss to Bayer Leverkusen last weekend, despite taking an early lead through Omar Marmoush.

The defeat, their first in five league games, pushed them down to sixth place. Frankfurt will now look to bounce back with a win as they head to the capital for this Sunday’s game.

However, they face a daunting test against a Union side who have the second-best defence in the campaign, conceding just four goals. Hugo Ekitike and last weekend’s goal scorer Marmoush are expected in attack in Toppmöller’s 4—4—2 formation.