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

However, after promising starts, both sides faced difficulties in the weeks leading up to the World Cup break.

Match preview

Despite finishing fifth last season and seventh the season before, the Union Berlin faithful would still have been pinching themselves after the start their side made.

In just their fourth season back at this level, they were the Bundesliga leaders for much of the early stages.

They remain unbeaten at home in their last 13 league games, a run stretching back almost 12 months to last February, when Borussia Dortmund won here.

Their form fell off a cliff as the break edged closer though, with three defeats in their last five league games seeing them fall to fifth.

Their last encounter was a disaster, as they lost 4-1 at fellow high-flyers Freiburg in a game where they conceded the earliest Bundesliga hat-trick in 31 years.

Inside 20 minutes, Vincenzo Grifo had netted a treble for the hosts, while Union missed a penalty and had Diogo Leite sent off.

That result came after a 5-0 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen and a shock defeat to strugglers Bochum, who were bottom with just four points from 10 games going into the game.

They still have much to look forward to though, fighting on three fronts with a huge two-legged encounter with Ajax to come in a month's time in Europe.

In the meantime though, manager Urs Fischer will hope they can just stay in the race for the top four and make even more history come the end of the season.

Hoffenheim are currently lingering in mid-table but find themselves closer to the relegation places than European qualification.

A positive start which saw Andre Breitenreiter's side win four of the first six games has essentially gone to waste, especially after losing their final three games before the World Cup.

After being in the hunt for the top four in the early stages, they are now just four points off the bottom three after winning just one of their last nine in the league.

They may have lost the presence of young Georginio Rutter up front, but they still have the likes of Andrej Kramaric, Munas Dabbur and new acquisition Kasper Dolberg in attack to provide them with the goals needed to move back up the table.

Union Berlin Bundesliga form:

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Union Berlin form (all competitions):

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Hoffenheim Bundesliga form:

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Hoffenheim form (all competitions):

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Team News

Jerome Roussillon has arrived at Union Berlin from Wolfsburg this month to offer a natural selection at left wing-back after the departures of Julian Ryerson and Tymoteusz Puchacz.

Diogo Leite is suspended after his red card at Freiburg, and Morten Thorsby will miss out with an abdominal strain.

Rani Khedira will be available for selection again though, after he served his one-match suspension just before the break.

With Rutter leaving Hoffenheim to join Leeds United, Dolberg has come in and could well make his debut here.

Kramaric should partner him in attack after another fine World Cup with Croatia saw him claim another medal, like in 2018.

Central defender Benjamin Hubner was forced to retire during the season's intermission after a torrid spell of injuries saw him play just five league games in almost three years.

Union Berlin possible starting lineup:

Ronnow; Doekhi, Knoche, Jaeckel; Trimmel, Khedira, Roussillon, Haberer, Haraguchi; Becker, Siebatcheu

Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:

Baumann; Skov, Akpoguma, Vogt, Kabak, Angelino; Geiger, Stiller, Baumgartner; Dolberg, Kramaric

We say: Union Berlin 2-1 Hoffenheim

With both sides in need of a win after a poor run before the break, Union's superb home form may be what gets them over the line here.

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