Union Berlin vs Bayern Munich: Can hosts hand Bayern another shock?
A high-flying Union Berlin will be certainly taking their chances when Bayern Munich come to town on Saturday. Although Urs Fischer’s side are obviously the underdogs here against the Bavarian titans, they certainly will have taken notes of the way Gladbach absolutely humiliated die Roten in their midweek DFB-Pokal tie. In a match that had many neutrals cheering, die Fohlen really put Bayern to the sword, scoring five – yes five – goals sans reply to dump Bayern out of the tournament for the second straight season.
It was indeed a shocking result, especially with the way Bayern have been humiliating their opponents left and right all season, and it’s the first time Bayern haven’t been able to score since being held to a scoreless stalemate with RB Leipzig back in February 2020. The Bayern side who took to the pitch against Gladbach wasn’t a second-string team either, with both Alphonso Davies and Leon Goretzka returning to the fold, and Robert Lewandowski was on the pitch at the time. Lewandowski, who continues to score goals for fun, has indeed netted 17 times in his last 14 games across all comps but Gladbach have become a hoodoo for the Polish ace – he’s netted just twice in his 20 meetings against die Fohlen dating back to his time with Borussia Dortmund.
Meanwhile, die Eisernen have really been in excellent form. Overall, they presently sit in a very impressive fifth spot, just one point outside the top four, and are unbeaten in their last 21 Bundesliga home ties. Indeed, the last team to leave with a win isn’t Bayern, but rather Augsburg, who defeated them over two years ago (September 19, 2019). And they’ve only lost two of their last 12 Bundesliga games overall which goes back to last season. Spearheaded by the brilliant form of former Liverpool striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who’s netted seven league goals this season, Union Berlin have gone from strength to strength; unlike Bayern, they successfully passed their DFB-Pokal test, battling from a goal down to beat lower-tier side Waldhof Mannheim and progress to the round of 16.
The hosts may have to make do without a key player, with Max Kruse a major doubt due to a foot injury. Kruse’s creativity has been highly instrumental in Union Berlin’s success lately, and naturally, Fischer will hope to have him recovered in time. Bayern, meanwhile, have recovered all of their key players and now will be looking to topple Union Berlin’s formidable home record.
On paper, many would say this game is firmly “Advantage Bayern” but the way they crumbled midweek to Gladbach can’t be ignored. Furthermore, Union Berlin’s home record is not something to be scoffed at – after all, they haven’t lost here in over two years and that includes welcoming die Roten during the prior two campaigns. The same fixture last season saw Lewandowski salvage a draw for his side after it seemed like Bayern would leave empty-handed. Will the hosts be able to withstand the certain onslaught Bayern will try to bring on them as the Bavarian titans look to take out their frustrations from their humiliating loss earlier this week?
