Preview: Union Berlin vs Werder Bremen - prediction, team news, lineups

Desperate to escape the Bundesliga's relegation zone, Werder Bremen will travel to take on Union Berlin at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei on Sunday.

Die Eisernen are hoping to bounce back from defeat last time out, while Die Werderaner are dreaming of recording back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

Match preview

Steffen Baumgart's Union kicked off the 2025-26 campaign with a 2-1 triumph over Stuttgart, but any hope of qualifying for Europe has long been extinguished as they head into this weekend's showdown having won just one of their last nine games, losing four and drawing four.

Most recently, Die Eisernen followed up a rare victory - 1-0 against Bayer Leverkusen on February 21 - with a 1-0 downing at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach a week later.

That defeat has left Baumgart's side 10th in the Bundesliga, and with only 28 points to their name, the club are 15 behind Die Werkself in sixth with just 10 matches to play.

While the top six are realistically out of reach for Union, they will be looking over their shoulder at the bottom three, given that the capital club are a mere six above the drop zone, a gap that may not be enough considering their dire form.

Hoping to see their team distance themselves from the threat of demotion, the home crowd could take heart from the fact that Die Eisernen have lost only one of their last five games on their own turf.

However, the more concerned amongst the Union faithful would highlight that Baumgart's men have only won three of their 12 league outings at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei this term, and given the level of opposition, Sunday's contest will be considered a must-win.

Meanwhile, Werder parted ways with former manager Horst Steffen after a 1-1 draw with Gladbach on January 31 extended their winless run to 10 games, appointing ex-Fortuna Dusseldorf boss Daniel Thioune as his successor in early February.

The 51-year-old has been in charge for four matches so far, overseeing three straight defeats to begin his tenure, though ending last month with a 2-0 victory against bottom-of-the-table Heidenheim could spark his team to life.

Taking all three points against FCH lifted Thioune's side up to 16th in the Bundesliga, where their tally of 22 has them just one point shy of 15th-placed St Pauli and 16th-placed Mainz 05, meaning that safety is within reach.

Travelling fans will be buoyed by the knowledge that another triumph could see Die Werderaner escape the relegation zone, but they will also be cautious given that the visitors have only avoided defeat in one of their last seven away league games.

Additionally, Bremen have won just once on the road in 2025-26, and having failed to score in four of their last five away fixtures, it would take a major turnaround for Thioune to lead the team to victory on Sunday.

Union Berlin Bundesliga form:

Werder Bremen Bundesliga form:

Team News

Union will be without centre-back duo Diogo Leite and Tom Rothe this weekend due to respective thigh and muscular injuries, though Danilho Doekhi, Leopold Querfeld and Stanley Nsoki should be on hand to form Baumgart's defensive trio.

Elsewhere, versatile wide man Robert Skov is out with a calf issue, so expect to see Derrick Kohn start at left wing-back, while Christopher Trimmel operates on the right flank.

As for Werder, they are also down a number of stars in their backline, including central defenders Abdoul Karim Coulibaly and Amos Pieper, who have hamstring and knee injuries to contend with, as well as fellow centre-half Maximilian Wober, who will sit out due to a thigh issue.

To make matters worse, full-backs Felix Agu and Mitchell Weiser remain sidelined with groin and knee problems of their own, so Thioune could opt for Niklas Stark and Marco Friedl at the heart of his defence, flanked by Yukinari Sugawara and Olivier Deman.

Further forward, striker Victor Boniface continues his rehabilitation from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that is set to keep him out until May, while left winger Samuel Mbangula is unavailable due to a thigh injury and frontman Jovan Milosevic is a doubt with a back problem.

If Milosevic is not ready to feature, then Keke Topp could be in line to start at centre-forward, supported up top by Romano Schmid and Marco Grull.

Union Berlin possible starting lineup:

Ronnow; Doekhi, Querfeld, Nsoki; Trimmel, Khedira, Kemlein, Kohn; Schafer, Ansah; Burke

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:

Backhaus; Sugawara, Stark, Friedl, Deman; Stage, Lynen, Puertas; Schmid, Topp, Grull

We say: Union Berlin 2-1 Werder Bremen

Union may be in poor form overall, but their home record and resilience on their own turf suggests that they are unlikely to be beaten on Sunday.

That being said, Werder will be inspired by their win last time out, and given that they have the chance to escape the relegation zone this weekend, they should pose a challenge to their hosts.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.