1. FC Union Berlin take to the Autobahn this weekend for the first time as a Bundesliga club, with Urs Fischer’s team facing FC Augsburg at the WWK Arena on Saturday at 15:30.

Recap: Heavy starts for Union & Augsburg

Last Sunday was a momentous day in the history of 1. FC Union Berlin. Despite the 0-4 loss to RB Leipzig, the Köpenick club raised the curtain on their debut Bundesliga season, the 56th club to compete at the highest level in German football and the fifth from Berlin. Julian Nagelsmann’s team ran out dominant winners, but Fischer’s side showed enough glimpses to be convinced of future success in the Bundesliga.

Similarly, Martin Schmidt’s side have taken a couple of heavy blows already this season. In the DFB Pokal, the Bavarians went down 2-1 to fourth-tier SC Verl and followed that up with a 5-1 defeat at the home of Borussia Dortmund. Florian Niederlechner scored inside the first 20 seconds, but Schmidt’s men were convincingly beaten at the Westfalenstadion. Augsburg, 15th placed finishers last season, have made moves in the transfer market this week with the additions of Stephan Lichtsteiner and Tin Jedvaj, who signs from Leverkusen on loan.

Record: First clash in Bundesliga

There have been four competitive matches between FC Augsburg and 1. FC Union Berlin — three draws and one victory in Augsburg’s favour. In both visits to Augsburg, the Köpenick club have taken the lead but in October 2010, we suffered a 1-2 defeat in injury time. Vice-captain Marvin Friedrich transferred from Augsburg to Berlin in January 2018 on loan and completed his move this summer. Meanwhile, Manuel Schmiedebach has featured five times against Augsburg in the Bundesliga and has not experienced defeat.

Fischer: “It was a slap in the face”

The home loss on the opening weekend has a positive side also, according to Fischer. “You have to learn from these kinds of games as quickly as possible to make things better for the next one. I think the topic of adaptation will be with us for a while — it won’t be the last time that we have to learn from a new situation.”

On the injury front, Fischer confirmed Florian Hübner and Maurice Opfermann Arcones were unavailable for the Augsburg trip. Christian Gentner took a knock in training on Thursday, but the coach expects the midfielder to be in contention after the final session on Friday. Lennard Maloney was injured during Tuesday’s Baltic Sea Cup affair with FC Nordsjaelland, but the defender has since recovered to take part in the final few days of training.

Service: Almost an away sell out

Union Berlin will almost certainly complete their contingent for the match in Augsburg. More than 2,500 tickets have been sold already, with just a few seats remaining for purchase. Tickets will be on sale on Saturday afternoon at the stadium, subject to availability.