Key Facts
- Union go into an important home game in tenth place with 28 points; a win could see the Berliners close in on Augsburg and keep Hamburger SV behind them.
- Bremen’s 2-0 win over Heidenheim brought relief after only one point from the previous four league games, but ten away games without a win remain the biggest burden.
- Union looks much more stable at the Alte Försterei than away from home; with only one defeat in their last five home games supporting Berlin’s slight favoritism.
- Khedira is becoming even more important for Union in the center because several absences have to be compensated for with Leite, Rothe, and Skov, and his strength in one-on-one situations is supposed to direct the game.
- Numerous absences are exacerbating Bremen’s problems: with Coulibaly, Pieper, Wöber, Agu, and Weiser out, almost the entire defensive line is missing, and Boniface and Mbangula are also unavailable up front.
- In terms of betting, there is a lot to suggest a Union victory and a low-scoring game, because Union’s recent home results have been close and Bremen are often harmless away from home and have recently failed to score early goals.
There is not much separating these teams, which is precisely why this game at the Alte Försterei looks so tricky. Union go into Sunday’s Bundesliga clash in 10th place in the table with 28 points, while Bremen travel to the capital in 16th place with 22 points. Baumgart’s team lost 1-0 in Gladbach last week, Thioune’s team defeated Heidenheim 2-0, and the last meeting in October 2025 also went to Bremen by a one-goal difference. The starting position is therefore clear: Union could move closer to Augsburg and keep Hamburger SV behind them, while Bremen are only one point behind St. Pauli, but also only two ahead of Wolfsburg.
- Venue: Stadion An der Alten Försterei, Berlin
- Date and time: March 8, 2026, 5:30 p.m.
- Competition: Bundesliga (matchday 25)
The likely course of the game speaks in Union’s favor here. The bookmakers see Berlin only slightly ahead, but Bremen’s away streak of ten games without a win, the serious absences in defense, and the uncertainty surrounding Milosevic shift the balance a bit.
Union Berlin Form & Record Check
Union’s recent form in the league has been mixed, with one win, one draw, and three defeats from their last five games, but at second glance, this run does not look quite so poor. At home, they beat Leverkusen 1-0 and drew 1-1 with Frankfurt, as part of a home run with only one defeat in five games.
Away from home, however, defeats in Hoffenheim, Hamburg, and Gladbach exposed the familiar limitations in attack. It is also striking how often Union remain competitive after the break without really taking control of the game: in their last five league games, four second halves ended in draws, but the team conceded goals in four of those games. Khedira, recently one of the league’s leading tacklers, becomes even more important with the absences of Leite, Rothe, and Skov, as Union needs the duels in midfield to steer the game in their own direction.
Union is likely to stick to its familiar 3-4-2-1 formation, even if this is more of a prediction than a confirmed lineup. Rönnow should start behind a back three of Doekhi, Querfeld, and Nsoki, with Trimmel and Köhn providing width. In the center, the combination of Khedira and Kemlein seems most plausible, as it gives Baumgart control and defensive strength.
Werder Form & Record Check
Bremen comes into the game on the back of an important 2-0 win against Heidenheim, after having earned only one point in the four league games before that. The defeats against St. Pauli, Bayern, and Freiburg during this phase showed little freedom up front, and in the last five games, they failed to score before the break. That’s why the result against Heidenheim felt more like a relief than a complete restart. The bigger concern remains their away record. The current preview of the club mentions ten Bundesliga away games without a win, including four defeats in a row, and that weighs heavily here. Thioune also has personnel problems in defense, with Coulibaly, Pieper, Wöber, Agu, and Weiser all missing, while Milosevic’s back problems may force a decision between Topp and other mobile options around Schmid.
Werder are likely to line up in a 4-3-2-1, with Backhaus probably behind a back four of Sugawara, Stark, Friedl, and Deman. This formation would give Thioune a compact block in the center, with Lynen providing cover and Stage offering plenty of running power, while Puertas can play the first pass to the two attacking midfielders when in possession. The most important personnel question arises in defense, where Pieper, Wöber, Coulibaly, Agu, and Weiser are all missing, so this predicted back four seems like the most plausible solution. Further forward, Schmid and Grüll could play close to Topp, while Boniface, Milosevic, and Mbangula are missing. This leaves Njinmah and Bittencourt as the most important alternatives on the bench if Thioune needs a different profile late in the game.
Union Berlin – Werder Head-to-Head Comparison & Statistics
The most recent encounters have tended to favor Bremen. Werder have won three and drawn one of their last five games against Union, including a 1-0 home win in October 2025 and a 2-2 draw in May 2025. Union’s only win in this selection came at home in 2024, while Bremen also recorded a 4-1 win in 2024 and a 2-0 win in 2023. The clearest pattern is that Bremen always finds a way to score. Werder has scored in all five of these games, while Union has conceded in all five, which is not an ideal starting point for Baumgart. At the same time, four of the last five games have seen more than 1.5 goals scored, yet the second halves have often been controlled, with Bremen scoring after the break in each of the last three games.
