Bundesliga: Will There be More Gloom and Doom for Union Berlin?

Bayer Leverkusen vs Union Berlin

Bundesliga table leaders Bayer Leverkusen are set to host a free-falling Union Berlin side at the BayArena on Sunday night. This could’ve been a top six battle if this were last season, but unfortunately it’s not.

Since the hiring of Xabi Alonso, Bayer Leverkusen have established themselves as the Meisterschale frontrunners this season, and they’re showing no signs of slowing down.

In stark contrast, Union Berlin, who qualified for the Champions League for the first time last season, are currently in 16^th place because of their horrific stretch of Bundesliga 2023 results.

But despite their contrasting fortunes, this is considered a must-win game for both teams.

With Bayern Munich lurking, Bayer Leverkusen cannot afford a banana peel, while a win here for Union Berlin would instantly pull them out of the drop zone.

Talking Points

Bayer Leverkusen suffer backline blow

Xabi Alonso has been consistent with his rotation this season, but he’ll need to make a change this time around, particularly in the backline.

With Edmond Tapsoba sustaining a hand injury, that is one centre-back down for Bayer Leverkusen.

Tapsoba has featured in all matches this season for Die Werkself, and he has been one of the hottest commodities in Europe because of his performances and upside.

Prior to the injury, the 24-year-old excelled as a ball-carrying defender, having completed 92-per cent of his passes and 80-per cent of his dribbles. He has also made 29 clearances and six interceptions, and he has won 82-per cent of his tackles.

With Tapsoba sidelined, Xabi Alonso would likely call on Josip Stanisic to fill in. The 23-year-old came to Die Werkself this summer on loan from Bayern Munich.

Stanisic played a decent amount of minutes under Julian Nagelsmann last season, but he was frozen out of Thomas Tuchel’s rotation, hence why he was loaned out. The Croatian operates primarily as a full-back, but he can play as a centre-back too.

That’s the only thing to nitpick about Bayer Leverkusen at the moment. Much has already been said about their high-flying offence, which features five different players with at least four goals this season (Victor Boniface, Alex Grimaldo, Jonas Hofmann, Florian Wirtz, and Jeremie Frimpong).

Union Berlin in dire need of a spark

Die Eisernen had started the season well with back-to-back 4-1 victories against Mainz and Darmstadt. But since then, they haven’t won a single game because they’ve only found the back of the net three times while conceding 20 goals on the other side of the pitch.

Since scoring a hat-trick in their season opener, Kevin Behrens hasn’t been the same. He still leads the team in scoring with four goals alongside Robin Gosens, though.

Sheraldo Becker, who was their top scorer last term, only has two goals so far, so he also has to pick it up. Meanwhile, Kevin Volland, who joined from AS Monaco last summer, has yet to open his Union Berlin account.

History

Bayer Leverkusen have been unbeatable at home this season, winning all seven home games across all competitions while scoring 26 goals (3.7 goals per game).

And Xabi Alonso’s men have lost only one of their 11 competitive meetings with Union Berlin (W6, D4), with the only loss being a 1-0 result in January 2021. They are also off to their best-ever start to a Bundesliga campaign with 28 points after the first 10 matchdays.

Meanwhile, Union Berlin have lost each of their last eight Bundesliga games, which is as many as they had in the whole of the last campaign. The longest losing run in the Bundesliga was when Greuther Furth lost 12 consecutive games in the 2021-22 season.

Bayer Leverkusen have led for the longest of all teams so far in the Bundesliga (577 minutes), while Union Berlin have trailed for the longest (466 minutes) this season.

Betting Tip

It’s not surprising that Bayer Leverkusen are favoured by the SBOTOP Bundesliga 2023 odds. The hosts are priced to win at 1.26, while a win for Union Berlin is at 8.25 odds, and a draw is installed at 5.40 in the 1X2 market.

These two teams had a goalless draw in their previous meeting, but that shouldn’t be the case this time around. But of course, Die Werkself are going to score more than Die Eisernen to claim maximum points. So, other than our recommended bet above, you won’t go wrong going for bets like Over 3.25 at 2.20, Total Goal 2-3 at 2.11, or even 4-6 at 2.65.

 

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