Bundesliga: Battle of the Bayern Chasers

Borussia Dortmund vs Union Berlin

Second plays third at the Signal Iduna Stadium on Saturday in a huge game where the winner will stay in touch with league leaders FC Bayern. This Bundesliga match is the pick of the action in Germany’s top-flight this weekend.

Most fans would expect BVB to be in the chasing pack, but then we’d be looking for RB Leipzig and maybe Bayer Leverkusen. But it’s Union Berlin who have been the surprise package this term and look capable of staying the course.  

Edin Terzic’s Dortmund come into the game on the back of a 4-2 defeat in Der Klassiker, and that put them two points behind the Bavarians, while Union Berlin recorded back-to-back home wins with a 3-0 victory over Stuttgart to stay two points further back.

Urs Fischer has led Die Eisernen to their best campaign since arriving in the top-flight in 2019 and, while Dortmund are strong favourites, the pre-match Bundesliga 2023 betting odds give the visitors a fighting chance.

Talking Points

Schlotterbeck out for Borussia

BVB’s loss to FC Bayern, newly coached by Thomas Tuchel, saw the SBOTOP odds on a Dortmund title drift to 5.00. They had slipped off the summit, but Die Schwarzgelben suffered another blow when centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck limped off at halftime with a torn muscle.

The 23-year-old is likely to be out for a few weeks with the experienced Mats Hummels set to step in, and Terzic is hopeful he may have some more reinforcements arriving soon.

“We hope that Gio Reyna and Thomas Meunier can join us again,” he said in the run up to a midweek DFB Pokal tie against Leipzig. “We’ll have to decide today after the final training session. For Sebastien Haller there is also a small question mark after he took a knock in Munich.” 

Striker Reyna missed Der Klassiker with a virus and he has just made cameo appearances in the previous two games, while Meunier is trying to shake off a back problem.     

Dortmund have the manpower to revive their title challenge. A 6-1 victory over Koln lifted BVB to the summit just before the international break as Marco Reus and Seb Haller scored a brace each. And with midfield pair Julian Brandt – with eight goals from 24 games – and Jude Bellingham in fine form, there is a good argument to say they can recover from the defeat to Bayern. 

Union’s warriors won’t give in easily    

But Borussia will have a huge challenge on Saturday when Die Eisernen rock up with an experienced band of campaigners in their ranks. 28-year-old Sheraldo Becker- with eight goals and four assists – is the standout player, but Fischer has ensured he has leaders all over the pitch.

His team is captained by 36-year-old Christopher Trimmel, a Union man through and through with 259 appearances over nine campaigns. He was instrumental in the team’s rise to the Bundesliga, and now he can lead them into the Champions League.

Trimmel is backed up by 29-year-old vice-captain Rani Khedira, who is a powerful force in midfield, while experienced forward Kevin Behrens scored the second against Stuttgart.

Behrens will always give defences a hard game alongside Guadeloupe utility player Jerome Roussillon who, at 30 years of age, still has the capacity to create Bundesliga 2023 highlights.  

Die Eisernen suffered a 2-0 setback in their DFB Pokal tie away to Frankfurt on Tuesday night, as Randal Kolo Muani scored a 93-second brace, but they matched Eintracht for much of the game and will be ready to go again in Dortmund on Saturday.  

History

The head-to-heads favour Die Schwarzgelben with eight wins to three, though Union Berlin won the return match 2-0 as Janik Haberer scored a brace to take Die Eisernen four points clear at the top of the table after 10 rounds of the campaign.   

BVB’s recent form is a little patchy with three wins, one draw, and two defeats from the last six games, while Berlin won two, drawn three, and lost one before the DFB Pokal loss on Tuesday. 

Crucially, the Signal Iduna Park has been a fortress for Terzic’s men with 10 wins, one draw, and one defeat this season.

Betting Tip

The hosts are at 1.58 to win this “clash of the chasers” with Union Berlin at 4.17 to upset the odds, and the draw is at 3.97.

With the Yellow Wall behind them, BVB can be an irresistible force, while Die Eisernen fear no one and would love to leapfrog their hosts into second place.

I’m backing BVB to win a high-scoring game.

 

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.