Borussia Dortmund vs Union Berlin Preview: Team News & Prediction
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Borussia Dortmund may still be smarting after being pegged back by St. Pauli and as it stands, Union Berlin arrive at Signal Iduna Park above their opponents in the table.
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Borussia Dortmund preview: Red card triggers collapse
It looked for all the world like Borussia Dortmund were heading for a hard-fought three points away to St. Pauli after substitute Julian Brandt had put them 1-3 in front with just over 15 minutes of normal time remaining. But the sending off of defender Filippo Mane changed everything. His foul inside the Dortmund penalty area led to a red card and penalty.
St. Pauli converted the penalty then went on to equalise just a few minutes later, meaning Dortmund had to settle for just a point when three were there for the taking. They’ll hope those two points dropped don’t prove decisive come next year.
Union Berlin preview: Ansah show
Union Berlin backed up their 0-5 triumph in the DFB-Pokal by getting off to a winning start in the Bundesliga, a first-half double helping them see off Stuttgart by two goals to one in the German capital despite them facing an avalanche of Stuttgart pressure in the second half.
New signing Ilyas Ansah was the hero for Union, scoring both goals on his Bundesliga debut. The 20-year-old signed from SC Paderborn this summer is likely to draw plenty of eyeballs over the course of this campaign, especially if he maintains his strong start to the season in front of goal for Union.
Borussia Dortmund team news: Further issues at the back
Mane’s suspension leaves Niko Kovac without another central defender to choose from. With Can, Schlotterbeck and Sule all injured, Kovac could well opt to recall Julian Ryerson, a full-back by trade but one who can slot into a back three if needed.
Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Kobel; Ryerson, Anton, Bensebaini; Couto, Gross, Sabitzer, Svensson; Brandt; Guirassy, Adeyemi
Unavailable: Can (Injured), Duranville (Injured), Mane (Suspended), Schlotterbeck (Injured), Sule (Injured)
Questionable:
Union Berlin team news: Unchanged side expected
Following Union Berlin’s victory last Saturday, it would be a surprise if Steffen Baumgart opts to make any changes to his starting XI unless a late injury crops up. This means an Ilic and Ansah front two once again with Trimmel at right-wing-back ahead of Juranovic.
Predicted XI (3-5-2): Ronnow; Doekhi, Querfeld, Rothe; Trimmel, Schafer, Khedira Haberer, Skov; Ilic, Ansah
Unavailable: Burcu (Injured)
Questionable: Ogbemudia (Injured), Nsoki (Injured), Tousart (Illness)
Borussia Dortmund vs Union Berlin prediction
Borussia Dortmund will come into this contest as heavy favourites to win and understandably so. They are at home, boast a plethora of quality attacking players and are desperately to respond well after blowing their lead away at St. Pauli. But despite, they are still significant doubts when it comes to their team, particularly defensively. Their depleted backline is there to be taken advantage of by a forward in good form and Union Berlin’s Ilyas Ansah certainly fits the bill on that front.
Whilst it’s hard to see Union being able to keep out the hosts for long, they should create a number of big chances themselves against a team that conceded three last time out. Therefore, the shrewd move here would be to back over 2.5 goals and both teams to score, the same outcome as what we saw in both Dortmund and Union’s opening league games.
Borussia Dortmund vs Union Berlin tip: Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals
