Our prediction for this Bundesliga match:
League leaders Bayer Leverkusen will look to keep their 100% record at home intact when they take on Union Berlin at their BayArena on Sunday afternoon. Xabi Alonso’s men are eyeing their first ever Bundesliga trophy, but they need to keep on making progress if they are to meet the goal. Patrik Schick suffered yet another injury, with the Czech international joining the likes of Odilon Kossounou, Arthur, and Ayman Aourir in the recovery room.
The capital club, on the other hand, are having a season to forget and given their dreadful losing run in the German top flight, we predict that the title-chasing hosts are going to pick up all three points from the match. Union Berlin midfielder Rani Khedira is banned for the match, while all Alexander Schwolow, Danilho Doekhi, Josip Juranovic, and Andras Schafer are out of contention with injuries.
Highlighted Player (Granit Xhaka):
Granit Xhaka is widely regarded as one of Europe’s most talented central midfielders at the moment and he is on the radar of quite a few high-profile sides. Just two seasons at FC Basel proved enough to attract interest from Borussia M’gladbach, who secured his signature in the summer of 2012.
The Switzerland international had a slow start to his career in Germany, causing many pundits to start doubting his credentials, but he eventually turn things around to show he is more than capable of playing at the highest level. Acting as a deep-lying playmaker, Xhaka impressed fans and pundits alike with his performances in Bundesliga and European competitions, and he even managed to score a couple of important goals in the process.
Despite his fragile age, the highly regarded footballer has been a key member of the Switzerland national team for quite some time now, scoring 6 goals in his first 40 caps to establish himself as a real leader of the Rossocrociati. The 2014 World Cup, where he scored one goal in four starts, should prove just the first of many major tournaments to come.
Highlighted Team (Union Berlin):
Union Berlin are a German football club originally founded back in 1906. Die Eisernen play home games at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei which can hold up to 22,012 spectators. Union Berlin’s home kit is red, with the team wearing white shirts and white shorts on the travels.
Union Berlin finished the 1923 domestic campaign as runners-up, with the team suffering a 3-0 loss to Hamburger SV in the title game. Speaking of the club’s biggest success in the German Cup, die Eisernen made it to the final of the competition in the 2000/2001 season. Schalke, though, proved to be a big catch for Union Berlin in the decider, with Jorg Bohme scoring a brace for die Knappen (2-0).
Union Berlin will face their local rivals Hertha in the 2019/2020 Bundesliga season as they secured promotion to the German top flight, but Hansa Rostock are considered the club’s main rivals.