Union coach Urs Fischer Photo: Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
From BZ/dpa
Coach Urs Fischer from 1. FC Union Berlin does not want to be blinded by the current situation in the table.
“We really shouldn’t be looking at the table. It’s a good team with individual quality. At the moment, of course, the results speak against it,” said the 56-year-old before the game in the Bundesliga on Sunday (3:30 p.m. / Sky) at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. After Bayern Munich’s 3-2 win at Hertha BSC on Saturday, Union needs a win to regain first place.
Although the Berliners have not yet won a competitive game in Leverkusen and despite Fischer’s warning on Saturday, Union is 16th in the table. favourites. The team also travel directly from Belgium with renewed confidence after last Thursday’s 1-0 win in the Europa League at Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.
However, in Frederik Rönnow and Andras Schäfer, two important players are missing. Both had been injured in the European Cup game. Goalkeeper Rönnow caught it on the thigh, midfielder Schäfer has to have an operation on his foot. The duo will no longer be available before the World Cup break.
For Rönnow, the Leverkusen loanee Lennart Grill will be back in the box, he had already stepped in at Saint-Gilloise in the second half of the game on Thursday. “I’m not worried about that. He has already proven himself in the past,” said Fischer. Grill made his first appearance in the Bundesliga on Matchday 6 in a game against 1. FC Köln (1-0).
There are also other alternatives for the squad in Leverkusen. With goalkeeper Jakob Busk, defender Timo Baumgartl and midfield players Paul Seguin and Milos Pantovic, four professionals joined the team on Friday. “We have our plan and we know what we have to do to be able to take something with us in the end,” said Fischer