After the international break, 1. FC Union Berlin return to Bundesliga action with a trip to FC Augsburg on Saturday afternoon (15:30 kick-off CET).

Review – The last match

Union are unbeaten in all competitions in 2022. Urs Fischer's side have beaten Hoffenheim and Borussia Mönchengladbach while drawing at Champions League-chasing Bayer Leverkusen. Three days after securing a place in the German Cup quarter-finals, 1. FC Union Berlin ran out 2-1 winners at Borussia-Park before the international break came into play. The Köpenick club took the lead through Max Kruse's penalty kick before Manu Kone equalised for the hosts ahead of the interval. The energy-sapping events of the week in the Olympic Stadium led to tired legs for the visitors but Fischer's side pulled through against the odds. The Foals passed up opportunities to win the game before Union landed the killer blow with four minutes of the game to play. Niko Gießelmann threaded a great pass through the home defence and Kruse rattled past Yann Sommer to bag another three points and keep Union progressing up the league table.

Augsburg – Opposition Report

Augsburg's 5-1 loss at Bayer Leverkusen left the club third-from-bottom in the Bundesliga and five games without a win ahead of the stoppage last week. Markus Weinzierl's team are in desperate need of points to stay clear of Stuttgart and Greuther Fürth in automatic relegation positions – one point ahead of their closest challengers and two off Wolfsburg in safety. But nevertheless, the VVK-Arena has regularly pushed Augsburg to their better performances. Augsburg drew with both Frankfurt and Leipzig, while Bochum managed to squeeze out a 3-2 win on their home turf. On November 19, Augsburg's highlight of the season so far was a 2-1 victory over champions Bayern Munich. Goals from Mads Pedersen and Andre Hahn succumbed Julian Nagelsmann's star-studded team to defeat at one of their local rivals in the German top flight.

Augsburg – The coach's view

Fischer said: "Augsburg are a very active team, I find. They keep trying for the full 90 minutes, to run and to stress. Their game behind the defensive lines is good. They are dangerous wide and have one-v-one players. And their ability to attack the penalty box and get numbers in the box is good. It's a very hard game, we've been warned about that."

Personnel

Grischa Prömel and Julian Ryerson are currently in quarantine following positive COVID-19 tests this week. Kevin Möhwald has returned to training after quarantine, but "managing the load" is key according to the coach. Andras Schäfer passed his last test today and has trained a bit with the team, so looks like he will continue that tomorrow. Genki Haraguchi returned from international break and has completed full training with the squad. Taiwo Awoniyi is back from AFCON and has trained without any issues.

Service

The home club have made over 300 tickets available for Union supporters. Only seats will be occupied and the match is going ahead under 2G Plus regulations.