Na serious Bundesliga match wey go hold for Voith-Arena dis Saturday afternoon, as bottom-placed Heidenheim dey host Union Berlin. The match dey set for 9:30 AM ET, and e go stream live for ESPN+. Heidenheim, wey dey last for table with just 16 points from 28 games, dey face almost impossible task to escape relegation. Dem dey 11 points away from safety, and dem no win any match for 15 straight games. But dem get small hope from dia last two draws against Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Union Berlin dey come for 10th position with 32 points, and dem dey look to secure dia top-flight stay. Dem no win for three games, and dia last match na 1-1 draw with St. Pauli. For head-to-head, Heidenheim don win four of dia last five meetings with Union, including 2-1 victory for November reverse fixture. But Union last win for Voith-Arena na for 2015, when dem win 2-0 for 2. Bundesliga.
Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt go miss Mikkel Kaufmann, Leart Paçarada, and Sirlord Conteh due to injury. Expected lineup na Diant Ramaj for goal; Marnon Busch, Patrick Mainka, Jonas Föhrenbach, and Tim Kleindienst for defense; Eren Dinkçi, Nikola Djuradj, Niklas Dorsch, and Dženan Ibrahimović for midfield; with Tim Kleindienst and Giorgi Zivzivadze for attack. Dem dey rely on Stefan Schimmer wey don score five goals dis season, even though im expected goals (xG) na just 0.6.
Union Berlin coach Steffen Baumgart get injury concern for David Preu and Matheo Raab. Predicted lineup na Frederik Rønnow for goal; Danilho Doekhi, Kevin Querfeld, and Diogo Leite for defense; Janik Haberer, Woo-yeong Jeong, Rani Khedira, and Robin Gosens for midfield; with Sheraldo Becker and Andrej Ilić for attack. Dem dey look to improve dia away form, as dem don lose four of dia last five road trips.
One big gist for dis match na 16-year-old winger Linus Güther. The boy wey just turn 16 on Wednesday dey in Union Berlin matchday squad for first time. If e play, e go become second-youngest player to appear for Bundesliga since Youssoufa Moukoko break record for 2020. Güther join Union from Energie Cottbus for summer, and im don impress for youth teams with five goals and two assists for eight U17 appearances. For Germany U16s, im don score seven goals for nine games, including hat-trick against Romania.
Coach Baumgart talk say dem dey careful with di boy development. “He has shown what he can do with the ball,” Baumgart say for press conference. “We have a huge talent in our ranks and need to be careful how we handle him.” Dem dey balance im football with education, but di boy dey enjoy im football well well.
For stats, Heidenheim don score 29 goals and concede 63 dis season, with goal difference of -34. Union Berlin don score 32 and concede 47, with goal difference of -15. Heidenheim goalkeeper Diant Ramaj don concede 63 goals for 29 starts, while Union’s Frederik Rønnow don keep 36 clean sheets for im career. Odds dey favor Union Berlin slightly, but Heidenheim dey desperate for win to keep relegation hope alive.
Other Bundesliga matches for Saturday include Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig vs Borussia Mönchengladbach, Wolfsburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt, and St. Pauli vs Bayern Munich. But di Heidenheim vs Union Berlin clash dey important for both teams—one dey fight for survival, di oda dey look to finish strong. E go be tough match wey fit produce surprise.
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