Preview: Hamburger SV v. 1. FC Union Berlin
Volksparkstadion, Hamburg
Monday, November 26
2:30 p.m. EST, 20:30 CEST
- Referee: Frank Willenborg
- All-Time in All Competitions: First competitive meeting
- Union Berlin's League Form: W-D-D-D-D-W
- Union Berlin's League Position: 3rd, 23 points, +11 GD
- Hamburg's League Form: D-W-D-W-W-W
- Hamburg's League Position: 1st, 27 points, +3 GD
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| The win over Fürth was the first time Union scored in the first 10 minutes since beating Sandhausen in February. |
On Monday night, Union make the trip north to face top of the table Hamburg in what is probably their biggest league test since the early season trip to Köln. This is one of those measuring stick sort of games, the type that Union has done really well in so far this season. They've ended level after 90 minutes on trips to both Köln and Dortmund this season.
From what we've seen this autumn, I have the sense that Union's eventual fate is going to be decided by whether or not they can start winning their home games against mid-table and lower clubs. Draws against Duisburg and Dresden at Alte Försterei are much more damaging to promotion hopes than a draw or loss at Hamburg. Of course, taking all three points back with you from Hamburg limits the damage done by those home draws.
Winning this fixture would make a huge statement about Union's promotion credentials, but I also feel like losing it wouldn't do a tremendous amount of damage, at face value. It's like playing with house money. The pressure is on the opponents; Union have thrived in those situations all year.
Team News
Out: Torrejón (calf)
Grischa Prömel returns from his one-match suspension after the indirect red card against Jahn Regensburg; however, he is back to sitting on four yellow cards for the season and faces another one-match ban on his next booking. Manuel Schmiedebach is also on four yellows, so they'll both have to be careful, or else there could be a serious lack of holding midfielders available against Darmstadt next weekend.
Felix Kroos has been seen back in training; he's been out since the Dresden game with an ankle injury. I'm not so certain he slides back into the XI, however, as the midfield trio of Schmiedebach, Prömel, and Robert Žulj have performed well.
Marc Torrejón remains Union's only injury, as he's been out all year with a calf problem. Urs Fischer's press conference, which is tomorrow, might change all of this, but for now, I don't think there's anyone surprising that'll be missing.
There could, of course, be questions about the forward trio, but I wouldn't change anything from the trio that blitzed Fürth for four goals the last time out.
Predicted XI: Gikiewicz, Trimmel, Friedrich, Hübner, Reichel, Schmiedebach, Prömel, Žulj, Mees, Abdullahi, Polter.
As for the hosts, Hamburg have five players on their injured list. Spanish winger Jairo Samperio, brought in on a free from Las Palmas this summer, has been out since August with a knee injury. Greek center back Kyriakos Papadopoulos, who has 29 national team caps, has been out since July with cartilage damage. You could almost say the exact same thing about Gideon Jung, as he's a center back out since July with cartilage damage; he doesn't have the caps for Greece, of course, since he's originally from Ghana...
Forward Hee-chan Hwang, in on loan from Red Bull Salzburg, is a doubt with a muscular problem; he missed Hamburg's last match against Aue. Matti Steinman, who started the first match of the season but has floated largely out of the lineup since, is a doubt with an adductor problem.
Defensive midfielder Vasilije Janjičić, like Union's holding midfielders, is sitting on four yellow cards and also faces an accumulation ban with his next booking.
Out: Torrejón (calf)
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| Felix Kroos is back in training, as shown here from Union's Instagram on Monday. |
Felix Kroos has been seen back in training; he's been out since the Dresden game with an ankle injury. I'm not so certain he slides back into the XI, however, as the midfield trio of Schmiedebach, Prömel, and Robert Žulj have performed well.
Marc Torrejón remains Union's only injury, as he's been out all year with a calf problem. Urs Fischer's press conference, which is tomorrow, might change all of this, but for now, I don't think there's anyone surprising that'll be missing.
There could, of course, be questions about the forward trio, but I wouldn't change anything from the trio that blitzed Fürth for four goals the last time out.
Predicted XI: Gikiewicz, Trimmel, Friedrich, Hübner, Reichel, Schmiedebach, Prömel, Žulj, Mees, Abdullahi, Polter.
As for the hosts, Hamburg have five players on their injured list. Spanish winger Jairo Samperio, brought in on a free from Las Palmas this summer, has been out since August with a knee injury. Greek center back Kyriakos Papadopoulos, who has 29 national team caps, has been out since July with cartilage damage. You could almost say the exact same thing about Gideon Jung, as he's a center back out since July with cartilage damage; he doesn't have the caps for Greece, of course, since he's originally from Ghana...
Forward Hee-chan Hwang, in on loan from Red Bull Salzburg, is a doubt with a muscular problem; he missed Hamburg's last match against Aue. Matti Steinman, who started the first match of the season but has floated largely out of the lineup since, is a doubt with an adductor problem.
Defensive midfielder Vasilije Janjičić, like Union's holding midfielders, is sitting on four yellow cards and also faces an accumulation ban with his next booking.
Current Form
As Union continued to rack up draw after draw through the months of October and November, it was remarked that there was only one other side in the top-12 of the 2. Bundesliga that had scored fewer goals. That side, however, is Hamburg, who have only 17 goals scored in 13 matches, yet sit three points clear at the top of the table. That's because they've only conceded 12; only Union (8) have allowed fewer goals.
Union's goal total is a little more respectable now, after their 4-0 win over Fürth before the international break; with 19 goals scored, Union's goal difference is second in the league behind Köln, who were aided by the fact that they beat Dresden by a million billion the last time out.
Hamburg opened the season with a big 3-0 home loss to Kiel, but have only lost once since, though that was 5-0 at home to Jahn Regensburg. After the loss to Regensburg, Hamburg drew three out of four matches, which resulted in the sacking of manager Christian Titz. They've won three on the bounce, plus their Pokal tie against Wehen Wiesbaden, under new manager Hannes Wolf.
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| Hamburg have won all four matches since replacing manager Christian Titz with Hannes Wolf. Last time out, they won 3-1 in Aue. |
Union's goal total is a little more respectable now, after their 4-0 win over Fürth before the international break; with 19 goals scored, Union's goal difference is second in the league behind Köln, who were aided by the fact that they beat Dresden by a million billion the last time out.
Hamburg opened the season with a big 3-0 home loss to Kiel, but have only lost once since, though that was 5-0 at home to Jahn Regensburg. After the loss to Regensburg, Hamburg drew three out of four matches, which resulted in the sacking of manager Christian Titz. They've won three on the bounce, plus their Pokal tie against Wehen Wiesbaden, under new manager Hannes Wolf.
Match Facts
So, this would normally be the part of the preview where we talk about previous encounters between the two clubs, but in this case, Union and Hamburg have never met before.
Union have played Hamburger SV II on six occasions between 2004 and 2008, when Union and Hamburg's reserve side were in the regional third division, the Regionalliga Nord. In 2004/05, Union lost twice to Hamburg II, en route to relegation to the Oberliga. After bouncing back to the third flight, Union lost a third time to Hamburg II before picking up a point from a scoreless draw on the road. Then, in 2007/08, Union won both meetings, 2-1 at home and 2-0 on the road. The following season, the third division was restructured, Union played in the new 3. Liga, and Hamburg II played in the fourth division Regionalliga Nord.
Incidentally, those last two matches in Hamburg after the reserves were played at the Volksparkstadion (under different names at the time,) rather than Wolfgang-Meyer-Sportanlage. That means Union are technically unbeaten at the Volksparkstadion! Yeah!
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| Union have one win and one draw at the Volksparkstadion, but they were against Hamburg's reserves. |
Union have played Hamburger SV II on six occasions between 2004 and 2008, when Union and Hamburg's reserve side were in the regional third division, the Regionalliga Nord. In 2004/05, Union lost twice to Hamburg II, en route to relegation to the Oberliga. After bouncing back to the third flight, Union lost a third time to Hamburg II before picking up a point from a scoreless draw on the road. Then, in 2007/08, Union won both meetings, 2-1 at home and 2-0 on the road. The following season, the third division was restructured, Union played in the new 3. Liga, and Hamburg II played in the fourth division Regionalliga Nord.
Incidentally, those last two matches in Hamburg after the reserves were played at the Volksparkstadion (under different names at the time,) rather than Wolfgang-Meyer-Sportanlage. That means Union are technically unbeaten at the Volksparkstadion! Yeah!
The Referee
The referee is Frank Willenborg, from Osnabrück. Willenborg, who will be 40 in February, has plenty of experience at this level and has 23 top flight appearances to his name as well.
He's worked nine Union fixtures in the past, three of them away from home. So, while Union have a record of three wins, two draws, and one loss at home with Willenborg, they are winless with him away from Alte Försterei, losing all three.
Last season, Union saw Willenborg twice, winning their home opener 4-3 over Holstein Kiel, then losing on the road in their DFB-Pokal tie at Bayer Leverkusen.
Union's other two losses away from home with Willenborg are nearly ancient history: a 1-0 loss at Ingolstadt in 2010 and a 2-0 loss at Köln in 2013.
While Willenborg has 23 Bundesliga matches under his belt, none of them were for Hamburg; the only time they've seen Willenborg was for a first round DFB-Pokal cup tie in 2015, which they lost in extra time, 3-2, to Carl Zeiss Jena.
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| Here's Willenborg sending off a Hertha player, so that's fine. |
He's worked nine Union fixtures in the past, three of them away from home. So, while Union have a record of three wins, two draws, and one loss at home with Willenborg, they are winless with him away from Alte Försterei, losing all three.
Last season, Union saw Willenborg twice, winning their home opener 4-3 over Holstein Kiel, then losing on the road in their DFB-Pokal tie at Bayer Leverkusen.
Union's other two losses away from home with Willenborg are nearly ancient history: a 1-0 loss at Ingolstadt in 2010 and a 2-0 loss at Köln in 2013.
While Willenborg has 23 Bundesliga matches under his belt, none of them were for Hamburg; the only time they've seen Willenborg was for a first round DFB-Pokal cup tie in 2015, which they lost in extra time, 3-2, to Carl Zeiss Jena.
Around the League
- Friday: Arminia Bielefeld v. MSV Duisburg; SchücoArena, Bielefeld
- Friday: SpVgg Greuther Fürth v. 1. FC Magdeburg; Sportpark Ronhof, Fürth
- Saturday: Holstein Kiel v. SV Sandhausen; Holstein-Stadion, Kiel
- Saturday: VfL Bochum v. Erzgebirge Aue; Vonovia Ruhrstadion, Bochum
- Saturday: SV Darmstadt 98 v. 1. FC Köln; Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor, Darmstadt
- Sunday: SSV Jahn Regensburg v. FC St. Pauli; Continental Arena, Regensburg
- Sunday: 1. FC Heidenheim v. SC Paderborn 07; Voith-Arena, Heidenheim
- Sunday: Dynamo Dresden v. FC Ingolstadt 04; Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, Dresden
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