Preview: Union Berlin vs. Stuttgart - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors, meanwhile, head into the weekend rock-bottom of the table having collected only one point from their last four matches.

Match preview

Indeed, with Der Klassiker set to take place between league leaders Borussia Dortmund and reigning champions Bayern Munich later on Saturday evening, Union Berlin possess a golden opportunity to close the gap on at least one of their potential title rivals.

While winning Germany's top flight for the first time in the club's history clearly remains a long-shot for Urs Fischer's side, it is not a dream which they will want to surrender lightly, especially having been knocked out of the Europa League by Union SG in recent weeks.

Die Eisernen's 2-0 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt prior to the international break set themselves back on track having failed to win any of their previous four league matches, while moving eight points clear of their opponents in the table in the process.

With Freiburg and RB Leipzig both within three points of Union Berlin, their top-four status is clearly far from secure as Fischer looks to guide the club into the Champions League for the first ever time, while also remaining in pursuit of a maiden DFB-Pokal triumph with a trip to Frankfurt in the quarter-finals later this week.

Despite Stuttgart's stuttering form of late, though, they are a team who are very rarely soundly beaten, so those home fans in attendance at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei will be acutely aware that their players will need to perform at a high level in order to claim all three points.

With a goal difference of -13 after 25 matches, Stuttgart must be scratching their heads as to how they have found themselves falling to the bottom of the division, with Schalke 04's remarkable unbeaten run in recent times placing pressure on all of the teams towards the bottom of the table.

With only one win in 10 league matches since re-joining Stuttgart while the domestic season was paused due to the World Cup, it would be safe to assert that Bruno Labbadia has not enjoyed the greatest second spell at the club so far.

The 57-year-old is yet to guide Die Schwaben to a single clean sheet in the Bundesliga, which is a record that surely must change on at least a couple of occasions between now and the end of the season if they are to retain their status in Germany's top division.

Moreover, having lost at home to Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg without scoring, their form at Mercedes-Benz Arena must also improve given that the likes of VfL Bochum and Schalke appear to be more capable of churning out wins on home turf at present.

Clearly, then, it is not the most ideal time to be travelling to Germany's capital to take on one of the strongest teams in the division in recent seasons, but perhaps playing with reduced pressure will suit Labbadia and his players as they desperately seek to move off the foot of the table.

Union Berlin Bundesliga form:

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D

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W

Union Berlin form (all competitions):

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W

Stuttgart Bundesliga form:

L

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L

Team News

Union Berlin will remain without Andras Schafer, who missed out on appearing for Hungary during the recent international break due to an ongoing foot injury.

Otherwise, though, Fischer appears to have a fully-fit squad at his disposal, with the former Basel boss likely to be considering naming the same starting lineup that defeated Frankfurt in their last match.

However, Diogo Leite and Aissa Laidouni may come into the side at the expense of Timo Baumgartl and Paul Seguin, despite the duo excellently providing fresh legs and impetus only three days after the club was dumped out of European competition.

Stuttgart, meanwhile, are expected to travel without Serhou Guirassy, who has not featured since being withdrawn against Werder Bremen in early February due to an adductor issue.

Labbadia may restore Tiago Tomas to his offensive unit having seen his side blank in a 1-0 defeat to Wolfsburg last time out, with Gil Dias potentially making way.

Union Berlin possible starting lineup:

Ronnow; Doekhi, Knoche, Leite; Juranovic, Laidouni, Khedira, Haberer, Giesselmann; Becker, Siebatcheu

Stuttgart possible starting lineup:

Bredlow; Anton, Mavropanos, Ito, Sosa; Endo, Karazor, Haraguchi; Fuhrich, Tomas, Silas

We say: Union Berlin 2-1 Stuttgart

Despite there being 28 points and 15 positions separating these two teams prior to Saturday's encounter, we can envisage a closely-fought affair at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei.

As previously discussed, Stuttgart have found themselves on the wrong end of several tight games so far this season, and we can envisage a similar outcome with the hosts marginally prevailing this weekend.

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