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

Heidenheim were beaten 4-1 away to high-flying Bayer Leverkusen last weekend, while Union Berlin surprisingly lost 2-0 at home to Hoffenheim.

Match preview

Having been promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history on the dramatic final day of last season, Heidenheim have already surpassed expectations to a small degree by collecting four points from their opening five matches.

Very few people would have given them much of a chance of surviving relegation in their debut top-flight campaign, and while there is an awfully long way to go for them to achieve that main objective, the early signs are that they are definitely capable of doing so.

One of those points came via a superb turnaround away to Borussia Dortmund, with Frank Schmidt's side stunning last season's title contenders by coming from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw at the Westfalenstadion, while they also dispatched Werder Bremen 4-2 in their most recent home game.

As such, despite being the fourth team already this season to fall victim to Xabi Alonso's resurgent Leverkusen outfit in their last match, Schmidt and his players will carry plenty of confidence in terms of causing an upset against Union Berlin on Saturday.

In many ways, Die Eisernen provide a template for their forthcoming opponents to aspire to having only been promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history in 2019, before going on to qualify for the Champions League just four years later by finishing fourth last season.

However, since looking like repeating that feat when winning both of their opening two games of the campaign against Mainz 05 and SV Darmstadt 98 by four goals to one, Urs Fischer's side have suffered successive defeats against RB Leipzig, Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim to fall outside the top half of the table.

Having come desperately close to gaining a historic draw against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium in their debut Champions League match last week, Jude Bellingham's injury-time winner may have left a lingering feeling of sadness ahead of their home defeat to Hoffenheim last time out, with Fischer's side looking unusually meek at times.

That said, they still managed to generate 22 shots in total having dominated possession, which suggests they were a little unfortunate to come away from Stadion An der Alten Forsterei with nothing to show. Fischer and his players will almost certainly continue to trust the process and the strong foundations which they have built together across a number of years, with full belief that they can turn things around, starting from Saturday.

Heidenheim Bundesliga form:

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Heidenheim form (all competitions):

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Union Berlin Bundesliga form:

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Union Berlin form (all competitions):

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Team News

Heidenheim will remain without Marnon Busch and Elidon Qenaj due to muscle and knee injuries respectively, with Schmidt likely to be weighing up throwing Marvin Pieringer back into his starting XI.

The forward surprisingly dropped down to the bench against Leverkusen, but he will expect to rekindle his partnership with Tim Kleindienst, and they will almost certainly be flanked by the dangerous duo Eren Dinkci and Jan-Niklas Beste.

Fischer, meanwhile, will have been relieved to have had a full week between fixtures to allow his players additional rest time, but he may already have one eye on their home match against Braga when selecting his team.

As such, Robin Gosens and Josip Juranovic could be spared in the wing-back areas, with Sheraldo Becker potentially set to be used from the bench in order to maximise his dynamism in midweek.

Rani Khedira and Andras Schafer remain sidelined by calf and foot issues respectively and Kevin Volland is still suspended after his dismissal against Leipzig earlier this month, while Robin Knoche and Alex Kral are both still doubts after missing out against Hoffenheim due to carrying knocks.

Heidenheim possible starting lineup:

Muller; Traore, Mainka, Siersleben, Fohrenbach; Maloney, Theuerkauf; Dinkçi, Pieringer, Beste; Kleindienst

Union Berlin possible starting lineup:

Ronnow; Doekhi, Bonucci, Leite; Trimmel, Laidouni, Haberer, Aaronson, Roussillon; Behrens, Fofana

We say: Heidenheim 1-3 Union Berlin

Although Heidenheim have began the campaign in slightly better fettle than expected, they have looked extremely open defensively at times, and we expect Union Berlin to punish them this weekend.

Fischer's side are simply too good for their current poor run of form to continue much longer, and they will be targeting Saturday's fixture as an excellent opportunity to return to winning ways.

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