Overview
Union Berlin experienced a volatile 2025-2026 season and continued to have an unstable start under new coach Mauro Lustrinelli.
Die Eisernen opened the season with a 3-3 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. They had the opening goal but could not preserve the advantage, even having to wait until the equalizer in the 90+2 minute to keep 1 point.
Lustrinelli certainly wants his players to show a better face in the away match against Bayer Leverkusen last weekend. However, Union conceded 2 goals in each half and suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat.
This result caused Union to drop to 15th place with only 1 point. Although it is too early to think about the relegation battle, the current start is enough to make fans of the capital team worried.
A victory may partly soothe those insecurities. However, Union has only won 2 out of 10 official home matches in 2026, besides 5 draws and 3 defeats. Therefore, doubts are inevitable.
Meanwhile, Schalke of coach Miron Muslic returned to the Bundesliga after winning the second division championship last season. Although they have not won any victories since the beginning of the season, the away team has reason to be more optimistic than Union.
Die Knappen lost to Augsburg 0-3 in the opening match. However, this result was somewhat unfair to Schalke when midfielder Ron Schallenberg received a red card around the 60th minute, when the team was only behind 0-1.
Schalke then showed commendable reaction in the most recent match when they drew 0-0 with Bayern Munich. Goalkeeper Loris Karius became a prominent figure with 5 excellent saves, contributing to helping his team score points against the defending champion.
Karius also had up to 10 saves in the defeat to Augsburg. With experience in the Premier League and having played for Liverpool, the 33-year-old goalkeeper is expected to play an important role in Schalke's relegation journey.
Schalke is currently 14th and is aiming for the first victory of the season. 3 points against Union could become an important boost for Die Knappen to create momentum and affirm their position in the Bundesliga.
Personnel situation
Union Berlin's attack will not have the best force in this match when strikers Andrej Ilic (sick), Oliver Burke (achilles tendon injury) and left winger Kastriot Imeri (brother's injury) are all absent.
In that context, Marin Ljubicic and Emmanuel Latte Lath are likely to be positioned in attack, with support from Rani Khedira, Michel Aebischer, Livan Burcu and Aljoscha Kemlein in midfield.
On Schalke's side, the away team will not have defensive midfielder Ron Schallenberg due to suspension. The penalty for this player after the red card in the match against Augsburg has been increased from 1 to 2 matches.
Therefore, Satoshi Tanaka is likely to partner with Soufian El-Faouzi in the center of midfield, while Junior Dina Ebimbe and Robin Gosens are arranged in the two corridors.
Expected lineup:
Union Berlin: Ronnow, Juranovic, Van den Bosch, Uduokhai, Rothe, Aebischer, Khedira, Kemlein, Burcu, M. Ljubicic, Latte Lath.
Schalke 04: Karius, Kurucay, Katic, Becker, Junior, Tanaka, El-Faouzi, Gosens, D. Ljubicic, Aouchiche, Sylla.
The match between Union Berlin and Schalke 04 takes place at 1:30 am on September 12 (Vietnam time).
