Union Berlin vs. Augsburg Preview - Unveiling Team News, Anticipated Lineups, and More

The match between Union Berlin and Augsburg is highly anticipated by supporters as the football passion peaks. An exciting exhibition of talent, strategy, and sportsmanship is expected in the next match. Let's explore the pre-match dynamics and identify the key players that will influence this thrilling contest.

When Union Berlin hosts Augsburg on Saturday, they will be keen to avoid losing in the Bundesliga for the tenth time in a row. With a win, the visitors, who have won their last four league games, might climb into the top half of the standings. Union Berlin's dismal performance in the current campaign has been one of the most noticeable aspects in any of Europe's major leagues following their historic first-ever Champions League qualification the previous season.

Yours, Fischer, was relieved of his managerial duties after Die Eisernen's nine consecutive league defeats, which included a 4-0 loss on the road against league leaders Bayer Leverkusen just before the international break, sent them to the bottom of the table.Despite their dismal start to the season, the 57-year-old will go down in club history because he led Union Berlin to their historic fourth-place finish last time after leading the team to the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019.

Marco Grote, who made an impression as the club's Under-19s head coach, has been brought in as an interim manager. The former VfL Osnabruck manager will likely have three games to establish himself as a contender for the permanent position. Still, Fischer is leaving large shoes to fill since the club has already started a global search.

Though they have lost 10 of their last 14 games in front of goal and have yet to win any of their previous 14 games, Grote could believe he cannot perform much worse than his predecessor in the current stretch of games. With challenging visits to Braga and Bayern Munich scheduled for later this week, the 51-year-old will see this weekend's match against Augsburg as an opportunity to stamp his team's imprint as they attempt to climb out of the relegation zone.

Conversely, Augsburg has advanced under their new manager, Jess Thorup. Fuggerstadter has shown improvement in recent weeks, following a somewhat poor start under the former Copenhagen manager who succeeded Enrico Maassen in the summer.

Augsburg scored eight goals in a row in back-to-back wins over Wolfsburg and Heidenheim before drawing 1-1 with FC Koln and Hoffenheim in the run-up to the international break.

Thorup appears to place much less value on possessing the ball than his predecessor Maassen, who had ambitions of turning Augsburg into a passing team because of his experience with Borussia Dortmund's reserve squad. They had less possession in the 10 league games that followed their opening-day 4–4 tie with Borussia Monchengladbach.

This implies that they could occasionally have to rely on luck, as seen by Finn Dahmen's ten saves in his team's tie with Koln, but it does seem like a more natural playing style for Augsburg, given their very modest budget.

In the end, they are likely happy to continue their 12-year Bundesliga tenure this year, and they appear to be on course to do so before taking on weaker opponents on Saturday.

Team News

Midfielder Rani Khedira, sent off against Werder Bremen last month, will serve the final match of his three-match ban, meaning Union Berlin will be without him.

Josip Juranovic and Leonardo Bonucci were forced to withdraw against Leverkusen. They will have to fight for their lives to heal from knocks, while Danilho Doekhi and Andras Schafer are set to remain out due to injury.

As a result, players like Robin Gosens, Kevin Behrens, and Robin Knoche should be back in the hosts' starting lineup. However, it must be clarified if Grote will stick with Fischer's favored 3-5-2 shape or try something else.

Arne Maier and Raphael Framberger, who both have significant knee and ankle problems, will not be traveling with Augsburg, while Reece Oxford is still absent because of his ongoing COVID-19 symptoms. Oxford used to play defense for West Ham United.

Before the international break, David Colina and Frederik Winther were not included in their team's 1-1 tie against Hoffenheim; however, they should be eligible for selection this weekend. Thorup's players gave an excellent performance in the game. Thus, it would be surprising if he made any changes.

Union Berlin's possible starting lineup:

Ronnow; Jaeckel, Knoche, Leite; Trimmel, Laidouni, Kral, Haberer, Gosens; Becker, Behrens

Augsburg's possible starting lineup:

Dahmen; Gumny, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai, Pedersen; Rexhbecaj, Dorsch; Jensen, Demirovic, Vargas; Tietz