Friday night football returns to the Stadion An der Alten Försterei on February 22 (18:30) when 1. FC Union Berlin take on DSC Arminia Bielefeld in the 2.Bundesliga.

Bielefeld’s head coach Uwe Neuhaus returns to Köpenick following seven years at Union — he is the club’s most successful head coach in the second division.

Review: Andersson’s late winner, Bielefeld lose at the Alm

Union Berlin jumped into second place on Sunday afternoon, with a 3-2 win over bottom-placed MSV Duisburg. Robert Zulj grabbed the first goal before Havard Nielsen and Lukas Fröde gave Torsten Lieberknecht’s team a shock lead midway through the second period. Urs Fischer’s team showed great desire in the last half an hour to pull level through Marcel Hartel and score the winner thanks to Sebastian Andersson’s super header from Zulj’s second assist of the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Neuhaus’ Bielefeld went down 3-1 at home to 1. FC Magdeburg at the Bielefelder Alm, playing almost an hour with 10 men after captain Julian Börner was dismissed — he will be suspended for Friday’s match in Berlin. However, Bielefeld are in excellent form since the turn of the year with three wins and a defeat. The Blues returned from the winter break to beat Dynamo Dresden 4-3, before beating Hamburg 2-0 at home, and then Jahn Regensburg 3-0 on the road. “Bielefeld got off to a good start in the Rückrunde, but they were unlucky in the last game with the red card, even though Magdeburg did well. They know how to play away and have won a game or two. A difficult task awaits us,” said head coach Fischer.

Record: Union are strong in Köpenick

The last encounter between the teams from the Hinrunde ended one apiece in Bielefeld. But Union have enjoyed better luck at home, winning 3-1 on MD20 in season 2016/17 and earning a credible 1-1 draw last season. The 4-2 win over Arminia in December 2013 is a highlight, with Torsten Mattuschka scoring in the second half for the Köpenick club. Arminia haven’t won at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei since the two teams have been competing.

Personnel: Just Polter out

Fischer confirmed in the pre-match conference on Wednesday that Sebastian Polter is the only first-team player unavailable at the current point. If Christian Lenz sustains a yellow card on Friday then he will be suspended for the next match. 

Service: Packed Friday crowd

A crowd of over 21,000 is expected in Berlin this Friday with more than 1,000 from Bielefeld in the away section. Tickets are still available — as of Wednesday — but there is no guarantee of a matchday sale.