Preview: Union Berlin have stern Bochum test in sight
Final home match for Union
This weekend’s 2.Bundesliga match against VfL Bochum may be the final home game of the season, but there are no thoughts about the summer holidays just yet. 1. FC Union Berlin welcome Robin Dutt’s in-form team to the Alte Försterei and will look to take an enormous step towards securing their league status on Sunday May 6 (15:30).
Positive record in Köpenick
Despite last week’s bitterly disappointing 3-1 defeat in Darmstadt, Union have opened up an unbeaten run of six games at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Victories against Fortuna Düsseldorf and Sandhausen were followed up by draws against Erzgebirge Aue, Jahn Regensburg, MSV Duisburg and Heidenheim. Against Sunday’s opponents Bochum, Union have only lost one of their previous six meetings in Berlin.
Robin Dutt’s men arrive in the capital as the form team in the 2.Bundesliga. They are sixth on 47 points and on a run of unbeaten games that has stretched to nine matches. Meanwhile, Union Berlin are three points off the relegation playoff position with 41 points and coach Andre Hofschneider remains confident the home support can roar the team on to victory. “Despite the tense situation, we are entering this game with confidence and firmly believe that we can beat Bochum at home. Most important is the continued support of our fans which is an enormous help for the guys on the pitch,” he said at the pre-match press briefing.
Busk remains out, no changes to personnel
Those who were ruled out of the visit to Darmstadt last week are still on the sidelines for the second last game of the season. Jakob Busk, Sebastian Polter and Fabian Schönheim are unavailable, while Felix Kroos’ spell on the treatment table continues. Steven Skrzybski, who suffered issues with his foot in training, will likely take part in team training and be included.
Hofschneider and his players used the end of the week for some rest and recovery at the Kienbaum Training Centre in Brandenburg. “At the beginning of the week we decided to focus on something outside of sports. Especially as far as regeneration is concerned, the conditions in Kienbaum are ideal. So we want to free each player from mental issues and create a certain looseness, because the football intensity will already accompany us enough on Sunday,” the coach explained.
Full house for final home game
Home tickets are completely sold out for the visit of VfL Bochum. There are a small number of tickets available for the away section, but the Ruhrpott side are expected to sell out their 2,100 away allocation.