After the battling 1-0 win on Swedish soil, 1. FC Union Berlin will once again face the Swedish record champions, Malmö FF in their 4th match of the Europa League group stage. Kick off on 13.11.2022 is at 21:00 in the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. 

The first tie in Malmö.

Both Union and Malmö were feeling under pressure before the game in Malmö with zero points from two games each. After an early period of pressure from Union, Malmö quickly took control of the game. From the 30th minute onwards, however, Union showed more confidence growing into the game, until the 45th minute when things suddenly fell apart. András Schäfer, the last man back, miscontrolled the ball and consequently fouled an onrushing Malmö striker. The result? He was immediately shown a straight red card.

So Union had to play another 45 minutes completely outnumbered. But the game took an unexpected and disappointing turn 15 minutes after the restart, when pyrotechnics were thrown onto the field. The consequence being an immediate stoppage of play.

But the rollercoaster ride on the pitch continued after play eventually re-started. Despite everything, Sheraldo Becker capped a superb performance, scoring the winning goal in the 68th minute.

The opponents

Malmö were certainly affected by the energy-sapping game against Union in the league. On Sunday, against tenth-placed IFK Värnamo, the Swedes could not get beyond a 0-0 draw. This means that the Swedish record champions have now gone three games without a goal. More information on Malmö FF can be found in last week's pre-match report.

The personnel

András Schäfer will miss the first leg due to his red card suspension. Otherwise, head coach Urs Fischer has the entire Europa League squad at his disposal.

The coaches' views ahead of the match 

Head coach Urs Fischer sees himself and his team well prepared: "Malmö play very variably from game to game, yet we are well prepared for the opponent. We have to stay active in the game, but not put ourselves under so much stress to have to try and get our European business done for the winter, right at the start of the game."

Midfielder Rani Khedira wants to build pressure on St Gilloise and Braga with another win: "The first three points in Malmö were very important for us as a team. Now we have to challenge and put pressure on our other group participants with another win."

Service information: Last remaining tickets still available

As UEFA have returned some tickets from their allocation at short notice, these seats are now available online in the Union-Zeughaus for Union members. Up to 10 tickets can be booked. The Berlin police have also published an open letter to fans.

The match will be broadcast live on RTL Nitro. As usual, Union will also provide information about the match on the club's own live ticker and, in English, on Twitter.