Preview: Union Berlin vs Ipswich Town - Prediction, team news, lineups

With the new season just around the corner, Ipswich Town and Union Berlin will see Saturday’s friendly as their final opportunity to fine-tune preparations ahead of the competitive action.

Ipswich are preparing for life back in the Premier League following their promotion from the Championship, while Union Berlin are gearing up for an eighth successive Bundesliga campaign under a new manager who made history in his previous role.

Match preview

Union Berlin endured a turbulent campaign last season and eventually parted ways with Steffen Baumgart after a run of just two wins from 14 matches.

The club made history towards the end of the campaign when Marie-Louise Eta was appointed as interim head coach, becoming the first woman to manage a men’s team in one of Europe’s major domestic leagues.

After helping Union steer clear of relegation danger, Eta returned to women’s football, with the club subsequently appointing Mauro Lustrinelli as her successor.

The Swiss coach arrives in Berlin with an impressive reputation after guiding FC Thun to promotion to the Swiss Super League before remarkably leading them to the title the following season.

Union will be hoping Lustrinelli can work similar magic in the German capital, although their pre-season form has provided little cause for optimism.

Their last seven outings have produced just one victory and a single clean sheet, leaving Lustrinelli with plenty to address before the new Bundesliga campaign gets underway.

Ipswich Town are entering a new era following the departure of Kieran McKenna, who guided the club to three promotions in four seasons, including back-to-back promotions to the Premier League.

McKenna’s final season ended with Ipswich finishing second in the Championship and securing their return to the elite, with Gary O’Neil now tasked with keeping the Tractor Boys in the Premier League.

Ipswich have wasted little time strengthening their squad, spending well over £100m on new arrivals including Emersonn, Abdul Fatawu and Florentino as they look to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

The early signs have been encouraging, with Ipswich winning their last three pre-season matches against Wycombe Wanderers, Le Havre and Europa Conference League finalists Rayo Vallecano.

Saturday’s clash with Union represents the Tractor Boys’ final test before their Premier League campaign begins at home to Sunderland, with a daunting opening month also featuring back-to-back fixtures against Manchester United and Liverpool.

Ipswich Town form (all competitions):

L D L L D W

Union Berlin form (all competitions):

W L L W W W

Team News

Ipswich have no major injury worries ahead of their final pre-season outing, meaning O’Neil has plenty of options for the match.

Newly signed goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen got his first chance to shine last week against Rayo Vallecano, and he is expected to get another shot between the posts on Saturday.

Leif Davis scored a brace in that outing, and he is also expected to keep his spot in the team.
When it comes to attacking options, Emersonn is expected to get some minutes after also rattling the net against Vallecano.

Union Berlin, on the other hand, are likely to go with experienced goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow in net, given second choice Matheo Raab is injured.

Lustrinelli has lots of options in defence following a string of new signings, and we could see the Swiss boss shake things up at the back.

In terms of attack, Emmanuel Latte Lath is the man to watch following his big move from Atlanta United.

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Scherpen; Davis, O’Shea, Diop, Clarke; Florentino, Matusiwa; Clarke, Mehmeti; Emersonn

Union Berlin possible starting lineup:

Ronnow; Markgraf, Friedrich, Den Bosch, Trimmel; Kemlein, Khedira; Skov, Jeong, Latte Lath; Ansah

We say: Ipswich Town 1-1 Union Berlin

The final pre-season clash is here, and both teams will be looking to make the last few tweaks ahead of the new season.

This is the final opportunity for players to impress ahead of the new campaign, and intensity should be a tad higher than in previous friendly outings. With that in mind, we are backing a competitive 1-1 draw.