German Bundesliga - Union Berlin vs. Paderborn - Preview & Prediction

Sitting 14th in the league, Union Berlin will try to improve their chances of survival while hosting bottom-dwelling Paderborn, who have failed to win any of their past 12 games. Kick-off - at 14:30 PM ET on Tuesday, June 16.

Union Berlin Beat Cologne

Union Berlin’s fight to remain in the Bundesliga for their second-ever season took a positive turn after the team edged out Cologne with a count of 2-1 away at RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday. The Bundesliga debutants scored twice from corners provided by Christopher Trimmel, who leads all European clubs with eight assists from set-pieces, having picked up two such helpers more than Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold. Marvin Friedrich and Christian Gentner both scored for the Iron Ones, who finally snapped a season-high seven-game winless run (D3 L4). The team sits 13th in the standings with a W10 D5 L16 record, seven points above the bottom three with three games remaining.

Swedish striker Sebastian Andersson has scored just once in his last six contests for the Berliners but still leads his team with 12 markers. Goalie Rafal Gikiewicz, meanwhile, has recorded 110 saves this year in the Bundesliga, sitting 2nd in the league’s keeper chart. He has six clean sheets in 31 outings and concedes a goal every 52 minutes of play. Union Berlin has netted the 14th highest amount of goals this season (37) while taking the 15th highest quantity of shots per game (11.9). The team is 2nd from the bottom in both ball possession (43.8%) and passing accuracy (70.2%).

Paderborn Get Battered By Bremen

Bottom-dwelling Paderborn edged closer to official relegation from the Bundesliga this season after recording their second defeat in the past three games (D1 L2) following a 5-1 fiasco against second-bottom Werder Bremen at Benteler-Arena on Saturday. Despite outshooting the visitors 18-11, the team from North Rhine-Westphalia managed to find the back of the net just once, with Abdelhamid Sabiri getting off the mark just two minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute when the Green-Whites were already leading 4-0. Paderborn are winless in 12 matches (D5 L7), sitting dead last in the league (W4 D8 L19), eight points off the relegation play-off spot and 11 below outright safety.

No Paderborn player has scored more goals than Dennis Srbeny and Streli Mamba this season, with both strikers having netted five snipes so far in the league. Goalie Leopold Zingerle, meanwhile, ranks 7th in the Bundesliga in saves, having stopped 87 shots thus far this year. He has picked up five clean sheets in 25 appearances during the current campaign and allows a goal every 45 minutes on average. Paderborn are 2nd in the least goals scored this season (34), 12th in most shots delivered per game (12.6), 13th in ball possession (46.7%), and 10th in passing accuracy (77.6%).

Prediction

Union Berlin finally snapped a seven-game winless run (D3 L4) with a 2-1 victory in Cologne on Saturday and are set to continue in similar fashion while hosting league-worst Paderborn, who have failed to triumph in any of their past 12 matches (D5 L7). The Iron Ones have lost just one of their past four domestic fixtures (D3 L1) and their desperation to fight off relegation should be enough on its own to spurge the team against the Bundesliga bottom-dwellers, who have managed to win just two league road games so far this season (W2 D6 L7). Expect the visitors to get on the scoresheet, though! Both teams have banked at least a snipe in the very last three contests of Paderborn, with the past four outings of Union Berlin also finishing with both opponents on the scoresheet.

Best bets:

Union Berlin to win (-150)

Both teams to score (-135)

Correct score: 2-1 to Union Berlin (+1330)

Sebastian Andersson to score anytime (+105)

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