Can Ujah and Abdullahi help Union Berlin survive their first season back in the top flight?

Union Berlin are back in the German Bundesliga after securing promotion last campaign, but do they have enough to survive for another season? It's too early to draw a full conclusion, but Urs Fischer's side shocked Borussia Dortmund, beating Lucian Favre's side 3-1 in just their second home game of the season. The result was needed though to calm any nerves, after being humiliated in their opening fixture against Leipzig, which ended in a 4-0 defeat.

When looking at Bundesliga betting Union Berlin are one of the favourites to be fighting for safety come the end of the season. They played fellow relegation favourites Augsburg in the second week of the season, drawing 1-1. Paderborn, FC Koln and Mainz are all expected to be finishing in and around the bottom three as well.

Union Berlin added a number of new recruits to their squad ahead of the 2019/20 season, including Nigerian striker, Anthony Ujah. The 28-year-old has joined after spending the past two seasons with Mainz, and Fischer will be hoping the experienced striker can add some extra firepower to his front line. He has yet to get off the mark after three appearances to date, but he certainly knows where the back of the net is, scoring ten plus goals in six different seasons throughout his career.

He faces strong competition from a number of strikers to start, however, including Sebastian Andersson, who has already bagged twice in three matches. Fischer can also call upon 28-year-old Sebastian Polter to lead the line, as well as new signing Sheraldo Becker, who can play in an advanced role.

Another Nigerian attacking option Fischer possesses is right-winger, Suleiman Abdullahi. The 22-year-old begins just his second season with Berlin, having featured 19 times last season, contributing with two goals and four assists in just 1073 minutes. So far, Abdullahi has been used to come off the bench, which Fischer tended to do for most of their promotion campaign last season. The Berlin manager often chooses to bring on his pacey winger late in games if his side are chasing the game.

But the campaign is a marathon, and Fischer will know when to utilise his two attacking Nigerian players. Abdullahi did not feature in the victory over Dortmund, mainly due to him wanting a more defensively-minded set-up to begin with. Expect to see the young winger in action more against teams in and around the bottom half of the table as the season goes on.

There is no doubt Union Berlin are going to be tested heavily throughout the campaign and players such as Ujah and Abdullahi will need to play their part if they are to stay in the top flight. However, their impressive victory over Borussia Dortmund indicates they have the quality within the side to do exactly that, and their home form may be key if they are to avoid the drop come May next year.

×