Preview:Union Berlin vs Freiburg - prediction, team news, lineups

A win for either hosts Union Berlin or visitors Freiburg on Saturday at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei could propel them towards the Bundesliga's European qualification spots.

Following their 1-0 loss against Werder Bremen on October 24, Union are 10th in the table with 10 points, whereas Freiburg are 11th with nine points following their 2-0 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen on October 26.

Match preview

Union were once again limited in the final third against Bremen, failing to score for the third time in four league games, though they did net twice when they beat Arminia Bielefeld 2-1 in the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday.

Head coach Steffen Baumgart will be thankful that his side were not taken to penalties against Arminia, and that victory was his team's second in three games.

The hosts finished 14th with just 40 points last term, but they are only on track to accumulate 42 points this season, though that would be their fourth-best total since their first campaign back in the Bundesliga in 2019-20.

However, Baumgart's team are only three points from sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, who currently occupy the division's Conference League qualification spot.

Die Eisernen have kept their opponents out in just one of their 10 fixtures in all competitions this term, and conceding on Saturday would be their fifth consecutive match without a clean sheet.

Union are unbeaten in their last three home outings, getting the better of their opponents twice, and they have only lost one of their last five fixtures at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei.

Freiburg went into the half-time interval against Leverkusen trailing 1-0, but their second-half performance only yielded one attempt on target from a total of three shots, one of which was taken from inside their own half of the pitch.

No team in the Bundesliga has attempted fewer shots than Freiburg (89), though they have scored seven times in their past four, and they have netted at least twice in six of their 10 most recent matches.

The visitors beat Dusseldorf 3-1 on Wednesday in the DFB-Pokal, with the club having now conceded five goals in their past four matches.

Boss Julian Schuster has overseen two wins, one draw and one loss in his team's four clashes leading up to the weekend, and they also triumphed in three and drew three of their prior six contests.

Freiburg have only won once in their past four matches away from home, though they were only beaten once in that time, while they also emerged as victors in two of their previous three on the road.

Breisgau-Brasilianer will be searching for their first victory in five against Union on Saturday, and they will hope to avoid a third loss in six games against their hosts.

Union Berlin Bundesliga form:

Union Berlin form (all competitions):

Freiburg Bundesliga form:

Freiburg form (all competitions):

Team News

Union boast a largely fit squad, with their only injury concern wing-back Robert Skov, who is scheduled to return by the middle of November.

Christopher Trimmel and Derrick Kohn may be stationed in wide roles either side of centre-backs Danilho Doekhi, Leopold Querfeld and Diogo Leite.

In the frontline, it would not be surprising if Oliver Burke and Ilyas Ansah were selected behind centre-forward Andrej Ilic.

Freiburg will have to contend with the knee injury attacking midfielder Daniel-Kofi Kyereh suffered in July, and his absence means the most likely candidate to play behind striker Junior Adamu is Lucas Holer.

Max Rosenfelder and Matthias Ginter could be stationed in the middle of a back four considering central defender Philipp Lienhart is unavailable.

Union Berlin possible starting lineup:

Ronnow; Doekhi, Querfeld, Leite; Trimmel, Khedira, Kemlein, Kohn; Burke, Ansah; Ilic

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Atubolu; Kubler, Rosenfelder, Ginter, Makengo; Eggestein, Manzambi; Beste, Holer, Scherhant; Adamu

We say: Union Berlin 1-1 Freiburg

Saturday's clash is likely to be a low-scoring game considering neither side have been particularly strong in the final third recently.

While Freiburg have not often suffered defeats on the road, their overall record against Union Berlin is poor, and they may have to settle for a point.

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