1. FC Union Berlin’s men’s team will start the final Bundesliga phase of 2024 on Saturday afternoon when they travel to play VfL Wolfsburg. Kick off in the Volkswagen Arena is at 15:30.

The lie of the land

Wolfsburg sit currently in 12th place in the Bundesliga on twelve points. A brief high that saw them reach 6th on the second matchday, was followed by a drop into mid-table where they have since settled. The ‘Wolves’ have scored the majority of their points so far away from home, recording three wins and a draw so far on the road. They are, however, still waiting for their first win in the Volkswagen Arena, having lost three of their five home games so far. Despite this, the trend is moving slightly upwards for the Lower Saxony club. Including their second-round win against Borussia Dortmund in the DFB Pokal, they have not been beaten in four competitive games.

Union, on the other hand, have been without a win for just as many games. The defeats against Arminia Bielefeld in the DFB Pokal and FC Bayern München in the league were followed by a point against SC Freiburg before the international break. With that final result, head coach Bo Svensson’s side kept their home run alive and remain unbeaten at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei in 2024/25.

The opponents

Under head coach Ralph Hasenhüttl, who has been in charge since March 2023, Wolfsburg finished last season in 12^th, four points clear of 1. FC Union Berlin. To improve on this position this season, the team strengthened their defence in particular. Goalkeeper Kamil Grabara (from FC Kopenhagen) and centre-back Konstantinos Koulierakis (PAOK) were signed for a total of almost €30 million. Mohamed Amoura, on loan from Union Saint-Gilloise, is currently impressing in attack and is VfL's top scorer with two goals and six assists. Alongside him, the other centre forwards Jonas Wind (four goals and one assist) and Tiago Tomás (Three goals and one assist) have been the most accurate so far.

The head to head

Union have won four of the 11 previous meetings between the two sides in all competitions. Although they have only managed to pick up one point at the Autostadt. Danilho Doekhi's first-half goal in time added on decided the last meeting in March in favour of 1. FC Union Berlin.

The reunion

Striker Kevin Behrens played a total of 105 games for Union between 2021 and 2024, while Jérôme Roussillon, laced up his boots in Lower Saxony from 2018 to 2023.

The personnel

Union‘s coaching team will be missing only Yannic Stein und Andrej Ilic on Saturday.

The coaches’ views ahead of the game

“We're looking forward to getting going again after the international break,” said Union head coach, Bo Svensson, during his press conference on Thursday afternoon. “We have a challenging task ahead of us. VfL Wolfsburg had a difficult opening programme and have a lot of quality, everyone is aware of that. On Saturday, it's going to come down to bringing our full potential onto the pitch.”

Service information

Union can count on the support of a good 3,300 fans in Wolfsburg. All supporters can find all the information they need for their trip to the stadium here.

The game will be broadcast live on SKY. In addition, there will be an audio stream on rbb24 Inforadio and on rbb24, and, as usual, Union will also provide information on the game on the club's live ticker, as well as providing updates in English and Spanish on Twitter