Bayern Munich vs Union Berlin

Defending Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich bid to return to winning ways against underachieving Union Berlin at the Allianz Arena.

Bayern Munich’s first defeat at the hands of Werder Bremen since 2008 last weekend intensified pressure on Thomas Tuchel as his side’s pursuit of a 12th consecutive Bundesliga title hangs in the balance. Seven points adrift of pacesetters Bayer Leverkusen, albeit with a game in hand, the ‘Bavarians’ can’t afford another slip-up against a Union Berlin side they’ve never lost to (W5, D3), with their last two meetings in Munich producing victories via a combined score of 7-0. Bayern will be out to make amends for a frustrating 1-0 loss to Werder, which marked their first scoring blank in home league action in almost four years, knocking them down from an eye-catching run of 65 scoring outings. Notably, each of Bayern’s seven top-flight home wins in 2023/24 has seen them score 3+ goals and beat their visitors by multiple-goal margins.

On the other hand, visiting Union Berlin maintained their mini-revival under new manager Nenad Bjelica with a dull 0-0 draw against Freiburg in their first league outing of 2024, making it just one defeat in four Bundesliga fixtures under the Serbian tactician (W2, D1). Union’s upturn in form since parting ways with long-serving coach Urs Fischer steered them three points clear of the drop zone. However, playing outside Berlin doesn’t bode well for Bjelica’s bid to widen that gap, considering his men are winless on their last seven Bundesliga travels (D1, L6), including four straight scoring blanks in the build-up to this contest. Since they’ve failed to get on the scoresheet on back-to-back top-flight visits to the Allianz Arena, another sub-par result is on the cards.