The pre-game discussions of injuries and rotation were muted as Urs Fischer named a similar starting team from the 1-1 draw in Paderborn. Anthony Ujah returned in the place of Marius Bülter up front, while Neven Subotic came back in for Michael Parensen at the heart of the three-man defence. Christopher Lenz took a knock in training this week, but earned his place in the team after the last training session. Goalscoring chances were limited in both penalty boxes with the Köpenick club seeing more luck from set plays. Robert Andrich chased furiously after his own header in the seventh minute to win the first corner, Christopher Trimmel’s cross forcing a save from Oli Baumann but Marvin Friedrich wasn’t able to return the rebound back on target. Christian Gentner met a cross from the Austrian international after 13 minutes but Hoffenheim cleared nervously. On 24 minutes, Trimmel took a quick free-kick, passing into the channel for the industrious Ujah whose shot was blocked by Robert Skov. However with five minutes left in the half, Hoffenheim created the best chance in the first 45. Bebou’s strong run isolated the Union defence into a 1-v-1 situation and Kramaric took control, but the Croatian fired his shot over the bar under pressure from Rafal Gikiewicz.
Alfred Schreuder’s side — who started the night one point above Union — grew quickly into the second half and started to look the stronger outfit. Although the hosts threatened on occasion, Ihlas Bebou struck for Hoffenheim after 56 minutes when his long-range effort took a wild deflection and went over Gikiewicz. Sebastian Polter and Marius Bülter offered a fresh set of ideas in the last half an hour but the chances were kept to a minimum. Gentner’s half-volley was yards past the post and Baumann prevented Sebastian Andersson from scoring with a terrific save on 83 minutes. Hoffenheim put the game to bed in stoppage time on the break with Christoph Baumgartner prodding the ball past Gikiewicz to seal the points.
Nevertheless, Union will have a chance to end the calendar year on a positive note when Urs Fischer’s team head to Fortuna Düsseldorf on Sunday 22 December at 15:30
Hoffenheim are final home opposition in 2019
Match preview
1. FC Union Berlin’s last home game of 2019 is on the horizon this Tuesday night against TSG Hoffenheim.
Urs Fischer’s team are looking forward to bringing the curtain down on a magnificent year of football at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei
Review: Mix of emotions in Paderborn, home loss to Augsburg
1. FC Union Berlin’s point in Paderborn maintained an excellent streak of games for Fischer’s team. The defeat at Schalke is the only blip but the squad have battled back. Sebastian Andersson scored both goals for the Köpenick club against 1. FC Köln
Meanwhile, Alfred Schreuder is starting to get the best from his Hoffenheim team. The 47-year-old from the Netherlands replaced Julian Nagelsmann this summer with his side fighting to make the top-half this campaign. Hoffenheim lost 4-2 at home to Augsburg on Friday, but are just one point ahead of Union Berlin. Robert Skov and Jürgen Locadia found the net for Hoffenheim in the narrow defeat to Martin Schmidt’s side. When asked about Hoffenheim’s recent form, Fischer said: “It’s not convincing perhaps when you look at the score. But when you look at the game, Hoffenheim could have improved results. Important that we look at our performance, then go on to build on that. That’s my priority.
Record: No history between the teams
1. FC Union Berlin and TSG Hoffenheim have yet to meet in league action. Hoffenheim have collected one more point than the Köpenick club this season.
Personnel: Doubts for English Week
In addition to the current injury issues, Christopher Lenz and Felix Kroos are doubtful for the visit of Hoffenheim. Both players will be given every chance to make the match according to head coach Fischer. Grischa Prömel, Laurenz Dehl, Akaki Gogia and Keven Schlotterbeck remain out for the foreseeable future.
“It’s possible that there are one or two changes. We have some still before the game,” said Fischer at the pre-match media briefing. “The players have recovered well. The stats and ratings are positive. I must say, that the players have invested a lot of time taking care of themselves and regeneration.”
Service: No tickets left
Union Berlin have no more tickets to sell for Tuesday’s 20:30 kick off — the stadium will open two hours before as customary.
The away section is unlikely to be sold out, however.
