Union Berlin vs VFB Stuttgart, Monday’s meeting for the German Bundesliga Qualification.
Union Berlin
Union Berlin came very close to securing a place in the First Division. Like Paderborn, they had 57 points. They were behind only by their disadvantage in the balance of goals.
On the final day, the runners-up were defeated by Dresden 3-1, but the capital’s team did not know how to take advantage of the stalemate.
They took a draw, 2-2 away from Bochum, who played starting from the 26th minute of the second half with one less player.
They were behind in the scoreboard when they were in numerical advantage. They managed to get the draw, but failed to turn the game that would give them the right to play in the Bundesliga in 2019/2020.
Their strong point in the season, however, was the games in their stadium. When considering only the results of the teams in their domains, the Union Berlin finished as leader of the ranking.
Out of the 51 points that were disputed as home team, they took 38.
Stuttgart
Antepenultimate place in the First Division with 28 points, Stuttgart had their biggest weakness in the visiting campaign.
Out of the 51 points that were disputed in the condition of visitor, they returned home with only six, having scored 10 goals and suffered 43.
In this way, the 2-2 draw in the first match, after having been in advantage twice in the scoreboard, was worrisome.
However, it can’t be considered unfair. Although the home team had possession of the ball longer (61% to 39%), the visitors had more attempts on goal (16 to 12).
That should cause coach Nico Willig to promote changes in the lineup for this Monday’s game starting the match with veteran striker Mario Gomez and midfielder Alexander Esswein, who stayed on the bench in the game on Thursday, May 23, and improved the team’s performance when they entered the second stage.
The outstanding performance of Union Berlin as the season-winner and Stuttgart’s poor performance as a visitor means that the prognostic in the team’s success in the capital is the best guess for Monday’s meeting that will define the eighteenth participant of the German Championship in its season 2019/2020.
