For their third fixture in the Europa League, 1. FC Union Berlin are facing what could be a decisive clash against the record Swedish champions, Malmö FF. Neither side are yet to collect a single point in group D. Kick-off in the Eleda stadium is on Thursday, 06.10.2022 at 18:45.

The opponents

Malmö FF (short for Fotbollsförenig, or football club), with 22 championship titles, are far ahead of IFK Göteborg (15 titles) in the history of Swedish top flight football. Their domination has continued into the modern era of the Allsvenskan, having won six in the last ten years. However, the FF had its most successful phases in the 1970s and 2010s with five titles in each decade.

In the current season - games are always played within a calendar year in Sweden - things are, however, rather mixed for the reigning champions. With only six games to play before the end of the season, Malmö are in fourth, seven points off the top, with a particular question mark being placed around their ability to hold on to a lead when ahead. 

In three of their seven defeats they have fallen behind despite having taken the lead at one stage and then not come back, even losing to Kalmar FF through an own goal in injury time (0:1). The next week they then lost away at Elfsborg, plunging them briefly down to seventh. 

Personnel

Tim Maciejewski is out due to a Corona infection while Sven Michel is still suspended following his red card against St. Gilloise. Head coach Urs Fischer is meanwhile symptom-free and can join the team for tomorrow's match as long as he continues to test negative.

The coaches views on the match

Due to Urs Fischer's positive Corona test, co-coach Markus Hoffmann stood in for him at the pre-match press conference. Hoffmann said that he doesn't know what to expect from tomorrow's opponent, saying "Malmö have two faces, one in the Europa League and one in the league. That's why it's difficult to assess whether they will be more passive or more active against us tomorrow. But the fact is neither team have a single point in the Europa League yet, and both need to change this."

Union goalkeeper Frederik Rönnow echoed Hoffmann, saying, "Malmö are a good team and have a lot of European experience. We don't know exactly what to expect. But we have to look at ourselves and take the game to them, so we can take something away from here."

Malmö's head coach Åge Hareide, however, does not expect any big surprises. "Union Berlin have a strong team. They play directly, and attacking their opponent with a classic German game. They play simplly, but do it well. Union play the same way no matter who they play. Therefore, I can hardly imagine them coming here and surprising us tomorrow."

Service info: Don't go to Malmö without a ticket

Slightly more than 1,000 Unioner will be there to support their team at the Eleda Stadium. Fans who do not have valid tickets for the match are strongly advised not to make the trip to Sweden. All Unioners with officially purchased tickets who will be at the stadium on site can find important information for their stadium visit in Sweden here.

The match will be broadcast live on RTL+. As usual, Union will also provide information on the match in the club's own live ticker, as well as in English on twitter.