1. FC Union Berlin will return from the Christmas and New Year break on Saturday January 2 at 15:30 with an away Bundesliga match at Werder Bremen.

Review

2020 ended on a disappointing note as Union were knocked out of the German Cup against 2.Bundesliga side Paderborn. Grischa Prömel put the Köpenick club in the lead, but Sven Michel's double and a strike from Dennis Srbeny gave Union a mountain to climb after half-time. The second-half improvement showed the squad's fighting spirit and there was a reward from their pressure as Uwe Hünemeier scored an own goal. In stoppage time, Union's Taiwo Awoniyi hit the inside of the post and Steffen Baumgart's side confirmed their progression to the third round. With 21 points from 13 games, Union's Bundesliga campaign ended in 2020 excellently – Fischer's side held on to a 2-1 win at home to Borussia Dortmund who start the new year just a single point ahead of Union.

Opposition

Meanwhile, Werder Bremen secured their place in the third round of the German Cup before Christmas with a 3-0 win at Hannover. Goals from Gebre Selassie, Josh Sargent and Jean-Manuel Mbom made it a positive end to a testing year for Florian Kohlfeldt, who guided Bremen narrowly away from relegation in June against Heidenheim. 

Personnel

Urs Fischer's matchday squad will not include Max Kruse, Joel Pohjanpalo, Nico Schlotterbeck, Anthony Ujah and Christian Gentner. Union are expecting Schlotti and Gentner to make a full recovery in the coming weeks following good progress in training. Marcus Ingvartsen has come through training without issues and is available for the first Bundesliga match of 2021.

Service

The current coronavirus infection protection measures in place mean that Saturday's match will be held behind closed doors.