On Sunday evening, Union Berlin and Mainz go head-to-head at the Stadion An der Alten Forsterei as both teams look to open their Bundesliga campaigns with a victory.
The club from the German capital kicked off their campaign with a 4-0 win at Astoria Waldorf in the first round of the DFB Pokal.
The victory came on the back of a positive pre-season campaign following Union’s fourth-place finish in the Bundesliga last season.
Despite their lofty end position in the German top flight last season, Union ended the campaign with an inconsistent run of league form, winning just three of their final eight league matches.
However, Die Eisernen did have a formidable home record, as they were unbeaten on home soil in the Bundesliga last season.
In fact, the boys from Berlin are undefeated in 23 league matches in front of their own supporters.
The visitors finished ninth place in the Bundesliga table last season, just four points adrift of the European spots in the German top flight.
Mainz missed a big opportunity for European football this season by ending the last campaign in poor form, as they failed to win any of their last five Bundesliga matches, having suffered four defeats and picked up just one draw.
The 05ers also struggled for form on their travels towards the end of last season, winning just two of their final 11 league matches away from home in the German top flight.
The poor run included failing to win any of their last four away matches.
However, Bo Svensson’s team opened their campaign by recording a 1-0 victory at lower league Elversberg in the first round of the DFB Pokal.
Forebet predicts that Union Berlin will kick off the new Bundesliga campaign with a victory in a high-scoring encounter.