Union Berlin host Napoli at the Olympiastadion this Tuesday in matchday three of the Champions League. Berlin will be looking for their first win of the Group Stage whereas Napoli will be looking to close in on Real Madrid.
Union Berlin currently sit last in Group C after two games with zero points and three points from qualification to the knock-out rounds.
In their last five games in all competitions, Union Berlin have five losses. Andrej Kramaric converted his penalty in the 22nd minute and Maximilian Beier scored just 16 minutes later to give Hoffenheim a 2 - 0 lead going into halftime. Despite their 22 shots, Union Berlin couldn’t find the back of the net as the game finished 2 - 0. Jan-Niklas Beste scored the only goal of the game for Heidenheim’s 1 - 0, once again failing to score with their 20 shots.
On matchday two of the Champions League, Union Berlin faced Braga. This time Union Berlin took a 2 - 0 lead through a seven minute brace in the first half, though Sikou Niakate did manage to half this lead before halftime. In the second half Bruma equalised early on, and in the 94th minute Andre Castro scored to give Braga the 3 - 2 win. Niclas Fulkrug opened the scoring in the seventh minute for Borussia Dortmund, but Union Berlin quickly responded with a goal from Robin Gosens and a penalty from Leonardo Bonucci. However, Nico Schlotterbeck, Julian Brandt and Julian Ryerson all scored to give Dortmund the 4 - 2 win.
The last time out for Union Berlin was against Stuttgart. Serhou Guirassy, Silas and Deniz Undav all scored in the 3 - 0 win for Stuttgart.
Napoli, on the other hand, sit second in Group C after two games. With one win and one loss, Napoli are on three points, three points behind leaders Real Madrid.
In their last five games in all competitions, Napoli have three wins and two losses. Piotr Zielinski’s penalty opened the scoring for Napoli and was then joined by Victor Osimhen, Kvicha Kvaratskheila and Giovanni Simeone for the 4 - 1 win for Napoli over Udinese. Napoli scored another four the next time out in a 4 - 0 win over Lecce, with Leo Ostigard, Osimhen, Gianluca Gaetano and Matteo Politano all on the scoresheet.
Last time out in the Champions League, Napoli faced Real Madrid. Ostigard opened the scoring before Vinicius Junior equalised, with Jude Bellingham giving Madrid the lead going into halftime. Zielinski converted his penalty to level the game, but an own goal from Alex Meret gave Real Madrid the 3 - 2 win. The other loss came against Fiorentina. Josip Brekalo scored early on for Fiorentina, but a penalty from Osimhen in the added time of the first half meant the game was level at 1 - 1 going into halftime. However, Giacomo Bonaventura and Nicolas Gonzalez both scored in the second half to give Fiorentina the 3 - 1 win.
The most recent outing for Napoli was against Verona. Politano opened the scoring and was followed by a brace by Kvratskhelia for a 3 - 1 win for Napoli.
Union Berlin and Napoli have never met in a professional match. However, one side does have significantly more experience in European football. The furthest Union Berlin have gotten in a European competition is the Last 16 in the Europa League, whereas Napoli have won the UEFA Cup and have reached the Semi-Finals of the Europa League.