On Sunday, 03.09.2023, 1. FC Union Berlin will play their second home match of the season when they face RasenBallsport Leipzig. Kick off at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei is at 17:30, with the gates open from 15:30.

The opponents

After winning the DFB Pokal last season, Leipzig also won the 2023 Super Cup in August when Marco Rose's team defeated FC Bayern 3-0 in Munich. However, RasenBallsport got off to a bad start in the Bundesliga, losing their opener 3-2 at Leverkusen. One week later, however, the Saxons were stung, and reacted, beating VfB Stuttgart 5-1.

During the summer break, Rose and sporting director Sport Max Eberl had to cope with the departures of key players Christopher Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai to Chelsea and Liverpool respectively. However, they signed centre-back Castello Lukeba from Olympique Lyon and midfielder Christoph Baumgartner from Hoffenheim. In addition, two new attackers, Benjamin Sesko and Loïs Openda, who was brought in from Champions League participants RC Lens, signed up to play in the Messestadt.

The reunion

In the final week of the transfer window, the signing of Christopher Lenz by RasenBallsport was also announced. The left-back played for Union between 2016 and 2021, making 72 competitive appearances, and was promoted to the Bundesliga with Union in 2019.

The head to head

Union have won each of the side’s past five Bundesliga meetings 2-1. The last win for Leipzig came in the DFB Pokal semi-final in the 2021/22 season.

Personnel

András Schäfer, Lucas Tousart, Rani Khedira, Sheraldo Becker, Laurenz Dehl and Brenden Aaronson will not be available on Sunday. 

The coaches’ views ahead of the match

"For me, Leipzig are one of the top four teams in the league,” said Union head coach Urs Fischer during his press conference on Friday. “Their strengths are, among other things, counter-pressing and their quick switching of play after winning the ball. In addition, Leipzig are a team that has a lot of individual quality and that try to solve situations with the ball. We are prepared for that and want to continue our successful start to the season on Sunday."

Meanwhile Leipzig coach, Rose, said, "We are looking forward to the challenge. Union are a team that knows how to win games. The last few games against them have all been close losses for us, but now we want to take three points from the Alte Försterei again. We are confident that we can do that."

Service information

Due to the rail replacement service between Wilhelminenhof-/ Edisonstraße and Bahnhofstraße/Seelenbinderstraße as well as the closure of Bahnhofstraße in Köpenick, early arrival is recommended. Further information can be found here.

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