Germany: Bundesliga
★Union Berlin⚽ S.Michel (72)
Stadium at the old forester’s housefull time1-1
★Greuther Fuerth⚽ B. Hrgota (33)
By Ben Sully
Union Berlin will be looking to continue their quest for a European place, when they play host to relegated Greuther Fürth on Friday.
Union Berlin
With three matches left to play, Union have much left to play for. The sixth-placed side could still qualify for one of the three European competitions, while there remains the possibility that they could miss out on European football altogether.
They currently sit in a Europa Conference League place, but if the winners of the DFB-Pokal finish in the top five then sixth position could be enough to qualify for the Europa League.
After losing to RB Leipzig in the semi-finals of the Pokal, Union exacted revenge with an immediate effect as they clinched a 2-1 victory over Die Roten Bullen in the Bundesliga last weekend.
Yussuf Poulsen gave Leipzig the lead before Sven Michel leveled in the 86th minute, and just moments later, Kevin Behrens grabbed the winner for Union.
The win last weekend represented Union’s fourth consecutive league victory, and they will be confident that they can pick up three more points when they face bottom-placed Greuther Fürth on Friday.
team news
Urs Fischer has indicated that Timo Baumgartl and Andras Schäfer will both miss out for the hosts.
Greuther Fuerth
Fürth were relegated last weekend after they were trashed 4-1 by Bayer Leverkusen. Following their relegation being confirmed, Stefan Leitl and his assistant have informed the club that they intend to leave at the end of the season, with Hannover 96 rumored to be interested in appointing Leitl as head coach.
Knowing they have just three Bundesliga matches left to play before they drop down into the second tier, Friday’s visitors will be hoping to finish the campaign with a flurry of positive results.
One of Fürth’s main aims before the season ends will be to pick up an away victory, with the clover leaves the only side that have not won on their travels in the Bundesliga this season. They only have two more opportunities to win on the road, including Friday’s away contest with Union.
team news
Marco Meyerhöfer and Paul Seguin will both miss out due to injuries, while a hamstring issue will rule Håvard Nielsen out for the second game in a row. Jamie Leweling, meanwhile, is expected to return to the starting lineup following a period of self-isolation, while Maximilian Bauer is available after serving a one-match suspension.
| Union Berlin | |
|---|---|
| (3-5-2) | |
| 19 | F. Ronnow |
| 3 | P. Jackel |
| 31 | R Bone |
| 33 | D. Heintz ↪24 |
| 28 | C. Trimmel (c) |
| 24 | G. Haraguchi ↪46 |
| 8th | R. Khedira |
| 21 | G. Prömel |
| 23 | N. Gießelmann ↪70 |
| 14 | T.Awoniyi ↪70 |
| 27 | S Becker ↪85 |
| bench | |
|---|---|
| 1 | A.Luthe |
| 9 | A Voglsammer ↩46 |
| 10 | S Michel ↩70 ⚽ |
| 17 | K Behrens ↩70 |
| 6 | J Ryerson ↩24 |
| 20 | B. Oczipka |
| 7 | L. Öztunali ↩85 |
| 18 | K Endo |
| 30 | K. Möhwald |
| Greuther Fuerth | |
|---|---|
| (3-4-1-2) | |
| 26 | A Linde |
| 22 | S Griesbeck |
| 24 | N.Viergever |
| 27 | G. Itter |
| 2 | S.Asta |
| 20 | T Raschl |
| 21 | T Tilman ↪90 |
| 15 | J Willems ↪73 |
| 40 | J. Leweling ↪84 |
| 17 | J Ngankam ↪73 |
| 10 | B. Hrgota (c) ⚽ |
| bench | |
|---|---|
| 1 | M Funk |
| 30 | S Burchert |
| 9 | A.Pululu |
| 11 | D Abiama ↩84 |
| 4 | M Bauer ↩73 |
| 19 | O. Fobassam Nawe |
| 23 | G. Jung ↩90 |
| 32 | A Barry |
| 37 | J Green ↩73 |
