After serving up a six goal thriller, Union Saint-Gilloise and Union Berlin square off once again in the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie. The tie is still firmly in the balance and with both teams expected to go for it on Thursday, another thrilling encounter could be in the cards.
While Union Saint-Gilloise will be pleased to have earned the draw in the first leg, there will be some disappointment with their inability to see out the win. They led three times thanks to a brace from Victor Boniface and an effort from Yorbe Vertessen but were pegged back.
Union Saint-Gilloise have been in good form lately and are unbeaten in their last three matches. Karel Garaerts’ men are unbeaten in their last three matches across all competitions, claiming two wins in that run, including a 2-1 victory at Genk in a domestic fixture on Sunday.
While Union Saint-Gilloise will be revelling in their recent good form, their shaky backline remains a recurring problem. They are without a clean sheet in their last six matches across all competitions, conceding 15 goals in that run.
Union Berlin showed great character to constantly fight back and earn a draw in the first leg. They fell behind three times but struck back each time through Josip Juranovic, Robin Knoche and Sven Michel.
While the fightback will be pleasing to manager Urs Fischer, he is likely to be troubled by their poor defending. The shaky backline has been a problem for Union Berlin in recent weeks as they have kept just one clean sheet in their last five matches across all competitions.
Despite their defensive problems, Union Berlin will head to Ferencvaros with plenty of confidence having impressed on their recent travels. They have suffered just one defeat in their last six away matches and played out a 1-1 draw at Wolfsburg in a Bundesliga fixture last Sunday.
How the bookies view it
Union Berlin have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 13/10 by Unibet to claim the win. A victory for Union Saint-Gilloise is valued at 40/17 by SBK while a draw is set at 5/2 with Unibet.
Head to head
Union Saint-Gilloise and Union Berlin have one win each and two draws from four previous meetings. Both teams progressed from the same group during the first round with each claiming 1-0 wins in the away leg of the tie.
Players to watch
Victor Boniface scored a brace in the first leg and could be worth keeping an eye on for Union Saint-Gilloise. The forward has found the net six times in his last eight matches across all competitions and is priced at 12/5 with bet365.
Sevn Michel was on target in the first leg and could be the one to watch for Union Berlin on Thursday. The attacker also scored the winner in the group stage meeting at Lotto Park and is priced at 9/4 by Unibet to find the net.
Anything else catch the eye?
Having produced a six goal thriller in the first leg, another exciting contest could be on the cards on Thursday. Over 3.5 goals is priced at 27/10 with BetVictor, who are also offering evens for over 2.5 goals while both teams to score is priced at 11/14 with SBK.
Union Berlin have been level at the break in their last three matches and Thursday’s clash could be tipped to produce a halftime draw at 5/4 with Unibet.
This UEFA Europa League match between Union Saint-Gilloise and Union Berlin will be played on Mar 16, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Union Saint-Gilloise vs Union Berlin prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
