Preview: 1. FC Union Berlin v. SpVgg Greuther Fürth

Stadion An der Alten Försterei, Berlin

Sunday, November 11

7:30 a.m. EDT, 13:30 CST

• Referee: Daniel Schlager
• This Match, Last Year: Union 3 - 1 Fürth
• All-Time in All Competitions: 4 Union wins, 10 Fürth wins, 9 draws
• Union Berlin's League Form: W-W-D-D-D-D
• Union Berlin's League Place: 4th place, 20 points, +7 GD
• Greuther Fürth's League Form: D-W-D-W-L-D
• Greuther Fürth's League Place: 5th place, 20 points, +4 GD
• Note: League places are as of the start of this weekend's fixtures.

I've mentioned repeatedly (that is, when I've been doing previews at all...) that you've got to win your home games. So, here we are, Union back at Alte Försterei sitting on four consecutive draws in the league (with a cup tie that also ended level after 90 minutes thrown in there for good measure.) They've scored twice in those four games. They haven't won since October 1. Yet they still entered the weekend in fourth place, thanks to the fact that their defense has been so strong.

Tomorrow, Union play host to a surprising Greuther Fürth side, who battled relegation for most of last season, but entered this weekend level with Union on points, only sitting behind their hosts on goal difference.

You have to give a lot of credit to Urs Fischer and the Union coaching staff for turning around last season's defensive leakiness, installing a well-organized and hard-working defensive line. But, while they've made great strides to improve on last season's performances on one side of the ball, you can't help but notice they're missing that spark up top, seeing a big Steven Skrzybski-sized hole in the midfield. Things may well improve as Sebastian Polter returns to fitness, but someone is going to have to step up and get him the ball more often.

That's why this feels like such a critical fixture, a chance to make statement and say, "Yes, Union are indeed here to challenge for a promotion spot this season." Because if they fail to take all three points from this one, then you have to start wondering if a gap is going to open up between Union and the top three. And then the trip to Hamburg in two weeks' time might tell you for sure.

Team News

Out: Torrejón (calf)

Doubts: Kroos (ankle)

Suspended: Prömel (one match, indirect red card)

Marc Torrejón is the only certain injury absence in this one, per Urs Fischer's press conference on Friday afternoon, though there remain concerns about Felix Kroos's return from his ankle injury, which he suffered against Dresden.

Grischa Prömel will serve a one-match suspension; he was going to serve a one-match suspension anyway after picking up a dissent booking in the fifth minute against Regensburg, which would have been his fifth yellow card of the season, resulting in an accumulation ban. However, his second yellow later in the match saw him sent off and suspended for the indirect red card. This means that when he returns after the international break against Hamburg, he'll still be sitting on four yellows and still be facing an accumulation ban.

So, the question is, with Prömel out and Kroos not certain, who plays in that role along with Manuel Schmiedebach? ... Marcel Hartel? That aside, it'll be a big match for Robert Žulj in midfield, who played for Fürth for three years.

And how about up top? Sebastian Polter is fine form, though the statistic is now that he is the only outfield player to score since Ingolstadt away on October 1 (as opposed to only the goalie having scored, which was true for about six hours of playing time.)

But out wide? Joshua Mees and Akaki Gogia have started each of the last two league fixtures in those positions, so I'll retain that in my predicted XI, but it would be nice to see Suleiman Abdullahi at some point. He played well at Dortmund in the cup, then didn't make the 18 at all against Regensburg.

Predicted XI: Gikiewicz, Trimmel, Friedrich, Hübner, Reichel, Schmiedebach, Hartel, Žulj, Mees, Gogia, Polter.

For Fürth, Daniel Steininger and Yosuke Ideguchi both have knee injuries, Shawn Parker has ankle problems, and Nik Omladic has a thigh injury. Ideguchi, who is on loan from Leeds, has a cruciate ligament rupture, having made only four appearances this season; he's facing a long time out but did not need surgery.

A pair of fullbacks both named Maximilian, Wittek and Sauer, are sitting on four yellow cards for Fürth and face a suspension with their next booking.

Current Form

There's not much to say here about Union that hasn't been said in the intro. Union are still unbeaten in 2. Bundesliga play through 12 matches, which is quite an achievement, but the shine is taken off a bit when you consider they've only won a third of them. And, again, they haven't won since October 1 and haven't won at home since September 25. And even that game (v. Kiel) was 0-0 into the 90th minute!

How many times, in 12 league games, have Union actually held the lead when the clock hit 85 minutes? The answer is two: v. St. Pauli and at Ingolstadt. Their other two wins saw go-ahead goals scored in the 87th (v. Aue) and 90th (v. Kiel.) I suppose this is better than holding leads in the 85th minute and then going on to drop points, which is what they did for most of last autumn...

As for Fürth, they've also experienced the heartbreak of losing to Dortmund in the Pokal in the 120th minute this season, doing so a round earlier than Union. Fürth have a record of five wins, two losses, and five draws on the year and they've picked up 10 points on their travels, leaving them fourth in the away table. (Incidentally, Union are third in the home table, picking up 12 points at Alte Försterei, but it really doesn't feel like it, does it?) Fürth have picked up wins at Duisburg, Dresden, and Bielefeld, but lost at Heidenheim and Darmstadt and drew at Ingolstadt back in August (that seemed like a better result then...)

Match Facts

By and large, Union don't have a lot of history with many of the teams in the 2. Bundesliga, because only three of the other 17 teams in the division are from the East. In this case however, Union have faced Greuther Fürth on 23 previous occasions and the boys from Köpenick have only won four of them. The only West German sides Union have faced more than Fürth are St. Pauli (24 meetings, by virtue of having played them earlier this year) and Düsseldorf (26 meetings.)

One of those four wins, however, was this corresponding fixture from last season. Peter Kurzweg, making an emergency start in place of Kristian Pedersen at left back, scored in the third minute and Akaki Gogia doubled the lead shortly before halftime. Maximilian Wittek pulled one back for the visitors on 57 minutes, but Simon Hedlund restored Union's two-goal advantage on 76 minutes and Union won 3-1.

Fürth who were in serious relegation danger during the second half of the season, won the reverse fixture, 2-1. Roberto Hilbert opened the scoring before Marvin Friedrich equalized, but a Grischa Prömel own goal gave the hosts all three points. After that match, Union found themselves only two points clear of relegation themselves with six games to play and April got a little dicey. They were also, of course, only four points out of fourth place at the time, if you want a reminder of how ridiculously close the league was last year.

As for Union's three other wins over Fürth? 2-1 in Fürth on the final day of the 2016/17 season (after Union's promotion hopes had evaporated in April,) 3-0 at Alte Försterei in 2003, and 1-0 in a 2000 Pokal tie. Union went 14 matches over 14 years without a win against Fürth between 2003 and 2017, including a five game losing streak.

The Referee

The referee is Daniel Schlager, whom Union have already seen once so far this season, for their 1-1 draw at Köln on matchday 2. In three matches all-time, Union have one win, one loss, and now one draw with Schlager in the middle. Last year, Schlager was the referee for Union's 1-0 win at St. Pauli, in which Marvin Friedrich was sent off. In 2016, Schlager also worked a 2-0 Union loss to Nürnberg, in which both sides were on 10 men by halftime.

Fürth have split their two prior matches with Schlager in the middle, winning 2-1 at home over Bochum in November of 2016, then losing 2-0 at Duisburg last December.

Schlager was promoted to the Bundesliga this season and has worked three top flight matches, though the home side hasn't won any of them. He's worked a 1-1 draw between Werder Bremen and Nürnberg, a 0-0 draw between Mainz and Hertha, and a 3-0 win for Wolfsburg in Düsseldorf two weeks ago.

Around the League

• Friday: SV Sandhausen 0 - 0 MSV Duisburg
• Friday: SC Paderborn 04 4 - 4 Holstein Kiel
• Saturday: 1. FC Köln 8 - 1 Dynamo Dresden (!?)
• Saturday: FC St. Pauli 1 - 1 1. FC Heidenheim
• Saturday: Erzgebirge Aue 1 - 3 Hamburger SV
• Sunday: FC Ingolstadt 04 v. Arminia Bielefeld; Audi Sportpark, Ingolstadt
• Sunday: 1. FC Magdeburg v. SSV Jahn Regensburg; MDCC-Arena, Magdeburg
• Monday: VfL Bochum v. SV Darmstadt 98; Vonovia Ruhrstadion, Bochum