Preview: 1. FC Union Berlin v. SV Darmstadt 98
Stadion An der Alten Försterei, Berlin
Saturday, December 1
7:00 a.m. EST, 13:00 CEST
- Referee: Marco Fritz
- This Match, Last Year: Union Berlin 3 - 3 Darmstadt
- All-Time in All Competitions: 0 Union Berlin wins, 2 Darmstadt wins, 2 draws
- Union Berlin's League Form: D-D-D-D-W-D
- Union Berlin's League Position: 3rd, 24 points, +11 GD
- Darmstadt's League Form: L-D-W-W-L-L
- Darmstadt's League Position: 12th, 17 points, -4 GD
The calendar turns to December tomorrow and Union Berlin still sit with a nice looking 0 in the loss column for this season. They've picked up some critical points on the road against the promotion favorites sitting in the two slots in the table ahead of them, including a big come-from-behind 2-2 draw at Hamburg this past Monday night. Make no mistake, this team's fighting spirit proves that they are never out of a match; they've shown that in Cologne and Hamburg and Dortmund as well.
But it's in Köpenick where this season will ultimately be defined, where Union have already settled for three draws in seven matches. In mid-November, it was starting to feel like Union were leaving too many points behind, but a 4-0 thrashing of Greuther Fürth and a draw-that-feels-like-a-win in Hamburg have settled the nerves a bit.
Manager Urs Fischer has repeated this week what I've been saying all year in this space, that you have to win your home games (explicitly, he said, "you are expected to win games at home," adding the caveat that it "won't be an easy game.") The 2. Bundesliga is close, just as it was last year; Union are four points out of first place, but also only four points ahead of 11th place Heidenheim.
There is no room for error in this division.
But it's in Köpenick where this season will ultimately be defined, where Union have already settled for three draws in seven matches. In mid-November, it was starting to feel like Union were leaving too many points behind, but a 4-0 thrashing of Greuther Fürth and a draw-that-feels-like-a-win in Hamburg have settled the nerves a bit.
Manager Urs Fischer has repeated this week what I've been saying all year in this space, that you have to win your home games (explicitly, he said, "you are expected to win games at home," adding the caveat that it "won't be an easy game.") The 2. Bundesliga is close, just as it was last year; Union are four points out of first place, but also only four points ahead of 11th place Heidenheim.
There is no room for error in this division.
Team News
Out: Torrejón (calf)
Doubts: Mees (knock)
With the continued exception of Marc Torrejón, yet to appear this season with a calf injury, Union should have a full contingent of players available for Urs Fischer to select from; everyone with the exception of Torrejón participated in some part of training this week. That includes Joshua Mees, who scored in the 12th minute at Hamburg but also had to be removed at halftime with a knock.
Robert Žulj was not in the 18-man squad for the Hamburg match, but I haven't seen any indication anywhere as to why, or any reason to think he won't be available tomorrow.
I'm predicting the same XI that I had predicted against Hamburg (of which only Žulj's absence was incorrect.) Marcel Hartel started in his place and I suppose would retain that spot if Žulj is unavailable. If Mees doesn't pass fit, then one of Union's many other wingers would slot in for him; it was Simon Hedlund who came in on Monday.
Predicted XI: Gikiewicz, Trimmel, Friedrich, Hübner, Reichel, Schmiedebach, Prömel, Žulj, Mees, Abdullahi, Polter.
Union now have four players in yellow card accumulation trouble: Grischa Prömel and Manuel Schmiedebach entered the Hamburg match on four yellows, but now Christopher Trimmel and Florian Hübner join the list, too. A fifth booking of the season will incur a one-match ban.
Darmstadt have two players in accumulation trouble, including their captain, Aytaç Sulu, as well as Fabian Holland.
Speaking of Darmstadt, they have two injury absences, as Rouven Sattelmaier and Selim Gündüz are out with knee injuries.
Out: Torrejón (calf)
Doubts: Mees (knock)
With the continued exception of Marc Torrejón, yet to appear this season with a calf injury, Union should have a full contingent of players available for Urs Fischer to select from; everyone with the exception of Torrejón participated in some part of training this week. That includes Joshua Mees, who scored in the 12th minute at Hamburg but also had to be removed at halftime with a knock.
Robert Žulj was not in the 18-man squad for the Hamburg match, but I haven't seen any indication anywhere as to why, or any reason to think he won't be available tomorrow.
I'm predicting the same XI that I had predicted against Hamburg (of which only Žulj's absence was incorrect.) Marcel Hartel started in his place and I suppose would retain that spot if Žulj is unavailable. If Mees doesn't pass fit, then one of Union's many other wingers would slot in for him; it was Simon Hedlund who came in on Monday.
Predicted XI: Gikiewicz, Trimmel, Friedrich, Hübner, Reichel, Schmiedebach, Prömel, Žulj, Mees, Abdullahi, Polter.
Union now have four players in yellow card accumulation trouble: Grischa Prömel and Manuel Schmiedebach entered the Hamburg match on four yellows, but now Christopher Trimmel and Florian Hübner join the list, too. A fifth booking of the season will incur a one-match ban.
Darmstadt have two players in accumulation trouble, including their captain, Aytaç Sulu, as well as Fabian Holland.
Speaking of Darmstadt, they have two injury absences, as Rouven Sattelmaier and Selim Gündüz are out with knee injuries.
Current Form
Union's dramatic draw on Monday has extended their 2. Bundesliga unbeaten run to 16 matches dating back to last season, though it's worth noting at this point that their last loss came against Darmstadt; that's covered in a little more detail in the following section.
Union haven't lost at home since January, when they suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Nürnberg. But it hasn't been all rosy for Union in that span; of 14 home games in that unbeaten run, Union have had to settle for a draw on seven occasions. From this season alone, it's four wins and three draws at Alte Försterei, with two of those three draws requiring an equalizer from the hosts in the 90th minute or later.
As for Darmstadt, they opened the season losing only one of their first five fixtures, but then lost four straight at the end of September and beginning of October. They righted the ship after the October international break, picking up two wins and a draw, while also crashing out of the Pokal to Hertha. They have lost two in a row, however, to Bochum and Köln, and sit 12th in the table on 17 points, poised exactly halfway between 3rd place Union (24 points) and 16th place Sandhausen (10 points.)
Union's dramatic draw on Monday has extended their 2. Bundesliga unbeaten run to 16 matches dating back to last season, though it's worth noting at this point that their last loss came against Darmstadt; that's covered in a little more detail in the following section.
Union haven't lost at home since January, when they suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Nürnberg. But it hasn't been all rosy for Union in that span; of 14 home games in that unbeaten run, Union have had to settle for a draw on seven occasions. From this season alone, it's four wins and three draws at Alte Försterei, with two of those three draws requiring an equalizer from the hosts in the 90th minute or later.
As for Darmstadt, they opened the season losing only one of their first five fixtures, but then lost four straight at the end of September and beginning of October. They righted the ship after the October international break, picking up two wins and a draw, while also crashing out of the Pokal to Hertha. They have lost two in a row, however, to Bochum and Köln, and sit 12th in the table on 17 points, poised exactly halfway between 3rd place Union (24 points) and 16th place Sandhausen (10 points.)
Match Facts
Union Berlin have never beaten Darmstadt, though they've only met on four prior occasions. Darmstadt were largely a second division club back in the West Germany days after the formation of the Bundesliga, but by the time both clubs were regularly playing third division football after reunification, the third tier was still regional and the clubs still never met.
Therefore, the first competitive meeting between the clubs only happened during Darmstadt's meteoric rise from 18th in the 3. Liga to the Bundesliga in three seasons. The Lillies spent only 2014/15 in the 2. Bundesliga as they finished second; in their first meeting, Union needed a late equalizer from Christopher Quiring to take a 1-1 draw at Alte Försterei. Darmstadt won the home meeting 5-0 in March.
After a two-year spell in the top flight, Darmstadt returned to die zweite Liga last year and the results in matches between the two clubs were similar to those from three years prior. Union needed a 94th minute equalizer, this marked as an own goal from a final set piece, to secure a wild 3-3 draw. At Darmstadt in April, the relegation-threatened hosts jumped out to a 3-0 lead within 35 minutes. Michael Parensen grabbed a consolation goal in the 87th to save a little face, with the match ending 3-1.
The Referee
The referee is Marco Fritz, who is based in Korb in Badem-Württemburg. Union have seen Fritz five times in the past and they are unbeaten in those five matches, winning three and drawing two. The first came back in 2009 in the third division, as Union won 1-0 at Aue. Between 2010 and 2013, Union saw Fritz for four 2. Bundesliga matches, beating Karlsruhe and Paderborn while also having to settle for home draws against Augsburg and Cottbus. Since 2013, as Fritz was promoted to the time flight around then, Union have only seen him for one cup tie, in 2016, in which they beat Duisburg 2-1 in extra time.
For Darmstadt, Fritz has worked seven previous matches, as his rise through the divisions coincided better with Darmstadt's climb through the German football pyramid. The earliest matches in the list go back to the Regionalliga Süd in 2007 through 2010, as Darmstadt suffered three losses to Karlsruhe II, Wehen Wiesbaden II, and Pfullendorf. In 2011 and 2012, in the 3. Liga, Darmstadt picked up a win over Wehen Wiesbaden (the first team, this time) and a draw with Hallescher with Fritz in the middle. In 2014, Fritz worked a 4-1 Darmstadt home loss to Düsseldorf in the 2. Bundesliga and in two top flight matches, Fritz worked two 0-0 draws for Darmstadt against Hoffenheim and Gladbach.
Fritz has worked 129 matches in the Bundesliga and also worked the 2016 DFB-Pokal Final.
The referee is Marco Fritz, who is based in Korb in Badem-Württemburg. Union have seen Fritz five times in the past and they are unbeaten in those five matches, winning three and drawing two. The first came back in 2009 in the third division, as Union won 1-0 at Aue. Between 2010 and 2013, Union saw Fritz for four 2. Bundesliga matches, beating Karlsruhe and Paderborn while also having to settle for home draws against Augsburg and Cottbus. Since 2013, as Fritz was promoted to the time flight around then, Union have only seen him for one cup tie, in 2016, in which they beat Duisburg 2-1 in extra time.
For Darmstadt, Fritz has worked seven previous matches, as his rise through the divisions coincided better with Darmstadt's climb through the German football pyramid. The earliest matches in the list go back to the Regionalliga Süd in 2007 through 2010, as Darmstadt suffered three losses to Karlsruhe II, Wehen Wiesbaden II, and Pfullendorf. In 2011 and 2012, in the 3. Liga, Darmstadt picked up a win over Wehen Wiesbaden (the first team, this time) and a draw with Hallescher with Fritz in the middle. In 2014, Fritz worked a 4-1 Darmstadt home loss to Düsseldorf in the 2. Bundesliga and in two top flight matches, Fritz worked two 0-0 draws for Darmstadt against Hoffenheim and Gladbach.
Fritz has worked 129 matches in the Bundesliga and also worked the 2016 DFB-Pokal Final.
Around the League
- Friday: Erzgebirge Aue v. SSV Jahn Regensburg; Erzgebirgsstadion, Aue
- Friday: SC Paderborn 07 v. Arminia Bielefeld; Benteler-Arena, Paderborn
- Saturday: 1. FC Köln v. SpVgg Greuther Fürth; RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne
- Saturday: FC Ingolstadt 04 v. Hamburger SV; Audi Sportpark, Ingolstadt
- Saturday: FC St. Pauli v. Dynamo Dresden; Millerntor-Stadion, Hamburg
- Sunday: MSV Duisburg v. Holstein Kiel; MSV-Arena, Duisburg
- Sunday: SV Sandhausen v. 1. FC Heidenheim; BWT-Stadion am Hardtwald, Sandhausen
- Sunday: 1. FC Magdeburg v. VfL Bochum; MDCC-Arena, Magdeburg
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