Tomorrow, Sunday 28 January 2024, 1. FC Union Berlin will play their first home match of the second half of the current Bundesliga season as they face SV Darmstadt 98. Kick off in the Stadion An der Alten Försterei is at 15:30.

The lie of the land

A win would be a hugely important statement for two teams caught up in a relegation battle. With 18 games played Darmstadt join 1. FC Köln and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the bottom three. They all have 11 points, with the Lilies only bottom on goal difference. There are some green shoots of improvement though. Last Saturday, in the Hesse derby against Eintracht Frankfurt, Julian Justvan was particularly impressive. Only recently signed, scored their first in a 2-2 draw, secured in the last minute of stoppage time with a goal from Christoph Klarer.

The opponents

The Lilies have won just two of their 18 matches this season, with five draws and eleven defeats. With 46 goals conceded in the current season, the club also has the weakest defence in the league. They have, however, scored 22 times, meaning they have already five more goals than Union.

They probably should have had more wins. On matchday four, they were unable to hold on to a 3-0 lead against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Despite a penalty saved by keeper Marcel Schuhen, the foals turned up the heat in the second half and goals from Jordan Siebatcheu, Florian Neuhaus and Tomáš Čavančarameant it ended in a 3-3 draw. Though disappointing at the time, this proved to be Darmstadt’s  first point of the season for the Lilies.

Their only wins came in a 4-2 home victory against Bremen and a 2-1 reverse away at Augsburg.

The head to head

Union won their last encounter, the second game of the season, when Robin Gosens scored a brace on his Bundesliga debut, while Kevin Behrens and Danilho Doekhi also scored to get the Union off to a dream start to the season.

The two clubs had previously met six times in the 2.  Bundesliga, with Darmstadt coming out on top three times, Union winning one game and two others ending in draws.

The reunion

Loan player Tim Skarke will be returning to old haunts. Under coach Torsten Lieberknecht, the Heidenheim native has already scored six goals and set up two more for his team-mates. This makes him Darmstadt’s top scorer.

Personnel

Assistant coach Danijel Jumic will be without Josip Juranović, Jérôme Roussillon and Kevin Volland tomorrow. Head coach Nenad Bjelica will also be missing due to his suspension. Aïssa Laïdouni and Rani Khedira are available again after taking part in the Africa Cup and recovering from injury respectively.

The coaches’ views ahead of the game

"Darmstadt have recently played with a certain euphoria and have shown a strong mentality in many games,” said Union’s assistant coach, Marie Louise Eta, during her press conference on Saturday afternoon. “I'm assuming that both teams will leave their hearts on the pitch and that it'll be a very competitive game. That's why we have to find the balance, to create more opportunities with the ball and dangerous scoring chances.”

Meanwhile Darmstadt coach, Torsten Lieberknecht, had this to say on the clash: "Union are a physically strong team. They have recently switched between two basic formations and have a good mix of playful moments and deep long balls. It will be an emotional and physical affair."

Service information

As usual, the Stadion An der Alten Försterei will open two hours before kick-off. The match is sold out. Union asks you to note the restrictions on public transport. Information on travelling to and from the stadium can be found here (German). Those arriving early can visit the Union-Zeughaus Waldseite from 11am.

The match will be broadcast live on DAZN and there will also be an audio stream on rbb24 Inforadio and rbb24. As usual, Union will also provide information about the match via the club's own live ticker as well as in English and Spanish on Twitter.