Pre-Match Report
The facts on the match away to Union Berlin
The scenario: Ninth versus fifth. Only two points separate the two teams prior to kick-off on Matchday 6. Union are very solid in defence and have conceded the second-fewest goals, but the attack have managed only four goals. The Iron Ones have created only two major opportunities across 450 minutes this season and have the lowest xG value of any team.
Home/away: Union kicked off the current campaign with two home victories (1-0 against St. Pauli and 2-1 against Hoffenheim) and in doing so returned to their form from 2022/23, when the Alte Försterei was a fortress and Union Berlin were the third-best home team. But the Berlin outfit dropped down to 13th position in the home table last term. BVB are still waiting for their first Bundesliga away triumph of the new season and are winless in four matchdays stretching back into last season. In that time, they have managed two away wins in the UEFA Champions League: in Paris and in Bruges.
Head-to-head record: BVB have won six of the last seven meetings, including the last three in a row. The only exception in this period was the 2-0 away defeat in the 2022/23 campaign. There has never been a draw between the teams in the top flight; BVB have not played any other team so often without ever sharing the spoils. Against Borussia, Union celebrated the first Bundesliga win in their history (3-1 on 21 August 2019) but also suffered their biggest Bundesliga defeat (5-0 in Dortmund in February 2020). The Iron Ones have only lost seven times in the Bundesliga to Borussia Dortmund and to Bayern Munich and have also conceded the most goals against those clubs: 24 against BVB and 25 against FCB.
Statistics: Both teams have lost just one of their last six league outings stretching back into last season (Union by a 1-0 scoreline in Gladbach on the last matchday, Borussia a week earlier in a 5-1 defeat in Stuttgart). Only Leipzig have conceded fewer goals than Union (three). That is significantly fewer goals than at the same stage of last season (nine). Only three clubs have scored more goals than the Black & Yellows (11).
Last season: Union registered more shots at goal (13-12) but were repeatedly denied by the strong Alexander Meyer (five saves) in the BVB goal. BVB struggled to get into the game in front of 22,012 fans at a sold-out Stadion an der Alten Försterei but were deserving of their half-time lead through Karim Adeyemi, who converted Dortmund's third chance with a glorious strike high into the net in the 41st minute. Ian Maatsen decided the game with his goal to make it 2-0 in the final minute.
Biggest home win: The first of the two away victories over Union to date was the most clear-cut. On Matchday 22 of the 2021/22 season, BVB converted their first two chances to take a 2-0 lead through Marco Reus (18, 26) in a hard-fought match. Union increased the pressure in front of the 10,000 spectators permitted during the corona pandemic in the second half, but Raphael Guerreiro secured the victory with his goal to make it 3-0 with 20 minutes of the match remaining.
Compiled by Boris Rupert