Union Berlin vs Mainz prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2023-08-19 13:30.
The phenomenal rise of Union Berlin continued in 2022/23, with the club from the capital now securing successively higher finishes in each of their first four seasons in the Bundesliga. That run culminated in the Iron Ones’ first ever UEFA Champions League qualification via their fourth-place finish, although only once have they began any of those memorable campaigns with a win (W1, D1, L2).
Union will aspire to maintain that upwards curve, and they should begin with confidence after opening their competitive season with a potent performance in a 4-0 DFB-Pokal win over Walldorf. That’s not to mention the fact Urs Fischer’s men were the only unbeaten Bundesliga side at home in 2022/23 (W11, D6), a record they’ll hope to extend after keeping the bulk of their squad together during the transfer window.
Providing the opposition will be last season’s ninth-place finishers Mainz, who missed out on a European berth by just four points after ending the season with five straight winless games (D1, L4). There was some reason for encouragement on the final day, though, with Mainz signing off by denying Borussia Dortmund their first league title in more than a decade with a thrilling 2-2 draw.
That five-game period without victory saw the 05ers concede 15 goals for an average of three per game, so the captures of midfielder Tom Krauß and defender Sepp van den Berg may help put an end to that porous patch of form. Bo Svensson’s men have opened their last two campaigns with a win, and repeating that could be crucial as the last two seasons yielded their only top-half finishes since finishing sixth in 2015/16.
Players to watch: The Bundesliga’s third-fastest sprinter in recorded history with a registered running speed of 22.72mph, Union’s Sheraldo Becker took just 38 minutes to get off the mark in the DFB-Pokal. He’ll be hoping he can use that blistering pace to build on his career-best 11 league goals last term. Trying to outdo him will be Mainz’s Ludovic Ajorque, who also scored in the cup for Mainz last week as well as in four consecutive games at the back end of 2022/23.
Hot stat: All but one of Union’s four Bundesliga seasons opened with a game that featured more than 3.5 goals.