Our prediction for this Bundesliga match:
Freiburg and Union Berlin go head to head at Europa-Park Stadion in the closing match of the Bundesliga round 15. Freiburg defeated Koln at home at the weekend, but they head into Sunday’s clash following a midweek loss at Leipzig. Christian Streich’s men aim to return to winning ways as soon as possible, and you should know that they are eyeing their fifth home triumph of the process.
Vincenzo Grifo returns to the starting XI after he was rested in the 3-1 loss at Red Bull Arena, while all Daniel-Kofi Kyereh, Jonathan Schmid, and Kimberly Ezekwem remain in the recovery room. The capital club, on the other hand, aim to retain second position in the standings, but seeing that Freiburg are a real force to be reckoned with at home, the visitors are unlikely to grab something from the match. Rani Khedira misses out through suspension, while all Andras Schafer, Frederik Ronnow, and Kevin Mohwald are injured for the visiting side.
Highlighted Player (Nils Petersen):
Son to a football coach, Andreas, the Freiburg striker Nils Petersen is a physical forward best known for his clinical finishing. A former Bayern Munich striker never got a chance to prove his worth with Bundesliga giants and had to take a long road to prominence which included loan spells at Werder Bremen and Freiburg, before penning a permanent deal with Die Breisaguer in 2015.
Petersen’s impressive exploits during the 2017/18 season helped him get into Germany’s provisional FIFA World Cup 2018 squad although his father Andreas would argue it was his personal influence that helped Joachim Loew write his son’s name in the 23-man list. Namely, Andres Piteresen spotted the Germany manager on a beach in January and decided to ask him about his son’s chances of making it into Germany World Cup squad.
Piteresen was rewarded with his senior Germany cap in an Austria friendly but unfortunately for his father missed out on the final squad for the tournament in Russia.
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.