Match Preview: Borussia Dortmund Face Urs Fischer’s League Leading Union Berlin

If you had asked me before this season who would be sitting on top of the table after 9 matchdays, I would honestly never have predicted it to be Union Berlin. Urs Fischer’s squad have delivered the perfect underdog story in recent seasons. In the 19/20 season, they placed 11th, in the 20/21 season they placed 7th, in the 21/22 season they placed 5th. You’ll probably notice a certain pattern here, and The Iron Ones are showing no signs of slowing down.

The boys in black and yellow had a very lackluster showing against Sevilla in the midweek, and the repeating story is that it’s time for them to redeem themselves. At this point, I think the only way for redemption is to go on a decent run of games and show some consistency. I’ll be hoping for exactly that when Dortmund face one of the current best squads in the league.

Stadion Stadion An der Alten Försterei is one of the best venues in the league, and we’ll surely be in for a blast!

Our Opponents

Urs Fischer’s squad has been quite the revelation for some time, and they currently find themselves at the top of the table, 4 points ahead of Borussia Dortmund. The big question is - do they deserve their current placement? That particular question can be quite hard to answer, but their xG values suggest that the Berlin club has been severely overperforming up until this point.

We can discuss the the validity of the xG metric forever, but one thing is for certain - Union Berlin have been one of the best teams in the league for quite a while, and they certainly aren’t in the upper half of the table by accident. They have done especially well on the defensive part, and have only let in 6 goals so far this season.

Union Berlin are no Bayern or Leipzig, but we’ll be clever not to underestimate our opponents from the capital city of Germany.

Predicted Lineup

Terzic has plenty of options for this one. Marco Reus will be returning, but he will probably have a cameo off the bench. Hummels has been great this season, and will be starting with either Nico Schlotterbeck or Niklas Süle. With Anthony Modeste not listed in the match-day squad, Moukoko can be expected to lead the line.

Prediction

To be perfectly honest, we’re playing one the best collective units in the league and it will without a doubt be a difficult task. Dortmund will need the full capacity of all our players in order to get the win. Some players will have to perform better than they’ve done so far this season, and I honestly have a hard time seeing that happen. Nonetheless, I think we have enough quality to slip out with a 2-2 draw.

Your Thoughts?

• Would you start Schlotterbeck, Süle or both?
• Is Moukoko ready for a full 90 minute match?
• What’s your prediction for the match?