Augsburg vs Union Berlin Prediction: A win for the away team

On Saturday 6th May in the Bundesliga, relegation-threatened Augsburg will host title-chasing Union Berlin at the WWK Arena. The two teams have different goals for the season. The hosts are now three points clear of the bottom three after seven games without a victory, while the visitors are still six points behind Bayern Munich with four games remaining.

The home side will try to snap out of their five-game losing streak and escape the danger zone. Last week, Augsburg kept up their quest for survival by coming from behind to tie Eintracht Frankfurt. Augsburg is 13th in the standings with 31 points from 30 games, barely three points above the relegation zone.

While Bayer Leverkusen held Berlin to a scoreless draw last time out at the Stadion An der Alten Forsterei, Union Berlin's last-season form continued. On April 23, Union Berlin ended a two-match losing trend by defeating Borussia Monchengladbach 1-0 at Borussia Park. Berlin is currently in third place in the Bundesliga, tied with Freiburg for fourth place with 56 points, and six points behind league-leading Bayern Munich.

The away team will have enough firepower to win this game. 

When Augsburg won four games in a row in seven contests between January and March, beating Borussia Monchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen, Hoffenheim, and Werder Bremen all by a score of 1-0, it appeared as though they might avoid the drop.

Augsburg has since gone winless, collecting just four of a possible 21 points, reigniting relegation concerns in Bavaria as Augsburg sits just three points above the dreaded relegation playoff zone.

Even though Augsburg has only dropped two of their last six games, drawing with Schalke 04, Wolfsburg, Stuttgart, and Eintracht Frankfurt, Augsburg will be anxious to get back to winning ways as soon as possible before things worsen.

On the positive side, Augsburg has had a lot of success at the WWK Arena in 2023, dropping only one of their seven home league contests since the winter break, while winning four of them.

It's also important to keep in mind that Augsburg traveled to Berlin in November and held Union Berlin to a 2-2 draw, coming from behind twice to snag a point. As a result, they should feel confident about confounding the high-flying Union once more.

After experienced midfielder Julian Baumgartlinger joined the club's list of casualties during last Saturday's draw at Frankfurt, injury-plagued Augsburg may be without as many as eight first-team players this weekend. Long-term absentees continue to include Andre Hahn and Tobias Strobl, while Saturday's game is also anticipated to be missed by Iago, Mergim Berisha, Fredrik Jensen, Rafal Gikiewicz, and Reece Oxford.

Ermedin Demirovic, who has eight goals and six assists this season, will stay in attack, with Mads Pedersen and Renato Veiga playing fullback in a 4-4-2 configuration.

Augsburg's possible starting lineup:

Goalkeeper: Koubek; 

Defenders: Veiga, Uduokhai, Gouweleeuw, Pedersen; 

Midfielders: Vargas, Rexhbecaj, Engels, Maier; 

Strikers: Demirovic, Beljo

Union Berlin must win again if they are to keep up with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, who have opened up a lead at the top after playing to a scoreless draw with Bayer Leverkusen last weekend. Not just this game, Urs Fischer's team will need to win all three points at the WWK Arena to keep their title hopes alive because the Berlin-based club is five points behind second-placed Dortmund and six points ahead of Union.

Despite this, Union Berlin can be proud of their accomplishments in 2022–23 given that only Bayern Munich has experienced fewer losses than Fischer's team this year, regardless of what transpires between now and the end of the campaign. Additionally, with 31 goals allowed in 30 games, Union has the best defensive record in the division. Their starting goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow has allowed just 20 goals in 25 outings while recording 10 clean sheets.

Union Berlin has won four of their last seven away league games in addition to only losing one of their last eight Bundesliga matches, positioning themselves for a solid and possibly triumphant season finale.

Union Berlin has a healthy roster going into the match on Saturday, though center-back Leite is suspended owing to the accumulation of yellow cards. Josip Juranovic and Jerome Roussillon will serve as the wingbacks for Union as Jaeckel is anticipated to take Leite's spot in the backline. Siebatcheu will be joined in attack at the other end of the field by Becker, who has 10 goals and 8 assists this season in all competitions combined.

Union Berlin's possible starting lineup:

Goalkeeper: Ronnow; 

Defenders: Doekhi, Knoche, Jaeckel; 

Midfielders: Juranovic, Laidouni, Khedira, Haberer, Roussillon; 

Strikers: Siebatcheu, Becker

Since January, Augsburg has played well at home, being unbeaten in eight of their previous nine games. However, the form and aspiration of Union Berlin make them the favorite going into the match.  and should win all three points following a challenging stretch of games.

We anticipate Union Berlin to defeat struggling Augsburg and take all three points to add to the worry of Augsburg when they fall further into relegation danger. A low-scoring game is expected though with potential scorelines of 0-1, 1-2, or 0-2.