Iron before duel against Freiburg
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Can Union take a decisive step towards the Champions League?
Thu 11.05.23 | 6:39 p.m. | From
In the hot phase of the season, the Irons are up against a direct competitor for the Champions League. Before the duel with SC Freiburg, Union coach Fischer is in a good mood, because the Berliners have an ace up their sleeve: their living room. Von Miriam Sinno
Union topic of the week
The last Bundesliga matchday had an impact on the table for 1. FC Union: Fourth place instead of third place, still 56 points instead of the perhaps expected 59 points. And even if the first Champions League participation in the club’s history was certain with the current placement: The defeat against FC Augsburg leaves a thread of aftertaste. “We weren’t happy with the game,” says coach Urs Fischer. The “Fuggerstadt curse” could not be ended again: Union have been waiting for a three-pointer against FCA for six games in the league. The coach brought his team south earlier and arranged a short-term training camp.
But there was a small but important problem that Union had to deal with in the past: The Irons can’t do anything with teams that put themselves in the back. “That’s why we worked on standards this week. We would have liked to have taken something from Augsburg with us,” said Fischer.
Points can only be collected again next Saturday (3:30 p.m.). And then SC Freiburg will take on the guest role again. All Bundesliga clubs know that it is difficult to win in the Alte Försterei. Dortmund suffered a bitter defeat, and the Irons took a point away from Bayern. Union has been unbeaten in 21 league home games, but Fischer sees the whole thing realistically: “At some point the series will break, it’s logical.” If it happened against the competitor for the Champions League places, that would be more than annoying.
To show off
In the Bundesliga, the Irons are still undefeated against the guests from Breisgau. In three home duels there was a win and two draws to celebrate. And even a point on Saturday would cause Union to be happy again. The record of 57 points from the previous season would have been set. And matchdays 33 and 34 are still to come after the encounter with SCF.
The opponent
After the past week and a half, SC Freiburg will probably be happy to see another opponent on the field again on Saturday. Christian Streich’s team recently had to play against RB Leipzig twice in a row, and twice the Breisgauer left the field as losers.
Nevertheless, the task is thankless, as it goes to the home power in Köpenick. Streich is unimpressed by this, however: “We’ve already broken a lot of series,” he says. And the Breisgauers are also aiming for the premier class – they are currently level on points with Union and are only in fifth place because of the worse goal difference. In any case, Streich has all the options in terms of personnel to achieve this goal. Attacking player Roland Sallai is back in the squad after a ‘pause for thought’ ordered by the coach and Ritsu Doan, who has been struggling with a knee problem, is also available.
The preparation
All men are available to Urs Fischer. “Everyone is fit,” said the happy Swiss. Also captain Christopher Trimmel, who is about to play his 300th competitive game for the Köpenicker. Fischer has this special anniversary in mind, “but it has no influence on my decision.”
Union could begin like this: Rönnow – Doekhi, Knoche, Leite – Juranovic, Khedira, Roussillon – Haberer, Laidouni – Behrens, Becker
Something is missing: nobody
Prognosis
In the An der Alten Försterei stadium, Union has the staying power thanks to the support of the fans and wins the duel for the Champions League places.
The rbb|24 tip: Union takes another step towards the premier class and wins 2-0 against Freiburg. The Irons climb to third place in the Bundesliga table, at least for one night.
Broadcast: rbb24, May 11, 2023, 6 p.m
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