Union New Boys vs. The Leipzig ArrivalsWith Union strengthening ahead of an unprecedented UEFA Champions League campaign and Leipzig replacing a couple of departing Bundesliga behemoths prior to the start of the 2023/24 season, both sides seemed set for a period of transition. Nothing of the sort. The sight of new signings hitting the ground running on both sides has been one of the stand-out features of this incredible campaign to date and it will provide one more reason not to miss what promises to be a magnificent Matchday 3 encounter.
Leading the Bundesliga after two games, Union are the division’s top scorers with eight goals in their highest-flying first games and two of them were scored by Robin Gosens in an electrifying first start for the Irons against Darmstadt last weekend.
The arrival of 29-year-old Inter Milan exploded down the left for Urs Fischer’s men last Saturday, and the German opener abroad with a thrilling opening goal and electrifying functionality that propelled all 10 Union men to a victory that in the end left the Lilies limping with exhaustion.
See: The Crazy Power of the Union
Loanee Alex Kral, who spent last season at Schalke, has proven to be a solid midfield for Die Eisernen, while Chelsea striker David Datro Fofana has brought strength, awareness and speed to the Berliners, picking up where they left off last season when Union finished fourth. .
Kevin Volland has also had his part to play from the bench since arriving from Monaco, with the ex-Bayer Leverkusen man popping up with an assist in Union’s 4-1 opening victory against Mainz. Things could hardly have gone any better for Fischer & Co. so far, and when you add in a 4-0 victory against Astoria-Walldorf in the DFB Cup first round, it means that the side from Germany’s capital have scored 12 goals in their three competitive fixtures to date.
Leipzig would have arguably suffered a setback at the start of the season, namely a 3-2 defeat to Leverkusen on matchday one, but Marco Rose’s men already have a trophy to show for their efforts in the current campaign.
Watch: Supercup champions Leipzig delight in Munich
With a fair 3-0 win at home to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich a few weeks ago, Saxony promoted the Super Cup to the DFB Cup they won last May. By picking up their first win of the season in the Bundesliga with a 5-1 thrashing of Last Time Out, beating league leaders VfB Stuttgart, Leipzig were able to bounce back from Leverkusen’s setback.
Among the key figures in the two victories mentioned above are Xavi Simons and Lois Openda, players recruited this summer to fill the gaping gaps left by Dominik Szoboszlai and Christopher Nkunku. Simons, on loan at Leipzig from Paris Saint-Germain, has rushed to Saxony and can already boast of scoring a goal every 73 minutes.
Openda celebrated his move from Lens to the Bundesliga with two goals in his two games so far in the German top flight. With Benjamin Sesko, Chrismost Sensih Baumgartner, Nicolas Seiwald and Fabio Carvalho also at the club following their respective transfers, Sunday’s game was the opposite. In the Union there will in fact be a who’s who of new faces.
Game changers: Kevin Behrens vs. Dani Olmo
Fast-forward to two of the most iconic players of 2023/24 so far. Both have already scored competitive hat-tricks in the opening weeks of the season and either will be eager to continue their excellent form when Union take on Leipzig this weekend.
Olmo was nothing short of sensational, completing an unforgettable hat-trick at the Allianz Arena when Die Roten Bullen won the Super Cup for the first time on 12 August. The way he achieved his 3-point moment against Bayern will make him one of the goals of the season when the crusade comes to an end next May. The Spanish foreigner has scored in each and every one of Leipzig’s games this season and has already equalled his tally from 2022/23, when he scored five goals. , Peak Olmo airs lately in prime time.
Watch: Union’s Darmstadt delight
“In principle, [Timo Werner] adjusts the position with Dani Olmo when we have the ball: this allows Dani to be more in the intermediate spaces instead of operating in the most sensitive part of the field,” said Leipzig coach Rose , the paper explained. of his star boy this quarter.
For the Union’s Behrens, things were a little easier tactically. The 32-year-old has been up front and there and the veteran striker, in his third season with the Berliners, has enjoyed locating them. It had been predicted that the Bremen player would be the best scorer in the Bundesliga after the first two rounds, but with his hat-trick at Mainz and his next goal against Darmstadt, Behrens sits at the top of the scoring charts. Jonah Wind.
Surprisingly, all four of Behrens’ goals were headers and that’s the case for Leipzig, be careful this weekend as the striker has won each and every game he has played against Die Roten Bullen, scoring one in four wins.
Watch: Kevin Behrens, hat-trick hero
Face-to-face: the union dominates
On Sunday, they host a Bundesliga season with maximum problems in two games for the first time and will gain confidence ahead of the festival thanks to a good record against Sunday’s visitors at the Alte Försterei. In another revealing statistic from this match, Union have won the last five Bundesliga matches between the two teams, and all with the same score: 2-1, something unprecedented in the league.
Another thing Leipzig have to deal with is Union’s current record, which is incredibly impressive. The Irons are unbeaten in their last 24 Bundesliga games in their own backyard, a club record and the streak in the department at the moment.
Werner’s numbers ahead of Sunday’s matchup favor Leipzig. The German foreigner has scored 3 times in his last 4 games against Die Eisernen. And the last visiting coach to win at the Alte Försterei in the Bundesliga was Leipzig’s Rose, when he was in the Borussia Dortmund team in February 2022.
See: Union held its assembly with Leipzig
Motivators: Urs Fischer vs. Marco Rose
This is the first time this season in the Bundesliga that two of Germany’s Champions League contenders have met. The fact that they both compete in the elite festival of European football is, of course, due in large part to the teams’ respective coaches. Fischer took control of the Union in June 2018, when the team was in the second division.
Winning promotion in his first campaign was just the beginning for the tactician, who propelled the capital club to the top of the Bundesliga table and to the European festival in the coming campaigns. Leading the team to fourth place last season meant a first Champions League. and their exciting team shows no signs of slowing down this season.
“I have to pay tribute to the team for their mentality and their morale,” the 57-year-old said of his side’s ability to win 4-1 at Darmstadt, despite a ten-man game last weekend. “Putting that setback aside and absorbing it as a team. The way the guys behaved is a step in the right direction. “
Rose also calmly cruises through elegant Leipzig after leading the men of Saxony to some primary honours in quick succession. The Leipzig-born tactician didn’t take charge of his hometown club until last September, but his influence and tactical knowledge already shines through in the team and the fact that they started the season as one of the favourites for the name is due to the ex-Dortmund. the immense efforts of the coach.
“Our lives depend on the effects and the morale of the team,” Rose said recently. “We’re in an era of transition and maybe we just want a little bit of time [but] we’ve brought quality and we’ll continue to be ambitious. “We’ve just won the Super Cup, which we can be proud of. “
With two ambitious masters of training work set to take on their respective top-performing teams, Sunday’s impact may be explosive.
We wish all Bundesliga fans around the world a season full of peace, joy and happiness!
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Grand prizes will be up for grabs on December 24.
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