1. FC Union Berlin vs. FC Schalke 04 preview: Two sides seeking first win

The home side in the Friday primetime match is 1. FC Union Berlin (0-1-1, 15th), who managed to come back from 1-3 down against Eintracht Frankfurt for a 3-3 draw in their opening match - but are returning home after an 0-4 defeat to Bayer 04 Leverkusen last weekend.

Despite difficult challenges to begin the season, Mauro Lustrinelli's side have the fourth-best shots to shot on target rate in the Bundesliga, with 10 shots on target from 24 attempts (41,7%) - ahead of the likes of FC Bayern München , RB Leipzig , VfB Stuttgart , Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund , and even their opposition this weekend, FC Schalke 04, who managed 6 shots on target from 15 attempts (40,0%).

Union and Schalke have played six matches since the former promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in the 2019/20 season. Their head-to-head record is 1-4-1, but it is worth noting that Schalke's win (2-1) came in 2019/20; the most recent season head-to-head record in 2022/23 saw the match in Berlin finish scoreless, but the match in Gelsenkirchen finish 6-1 to Union, on goals from Sheraldo Becker (twice), Sven Michel (twice), Morten Thorsby , and Janik Haberer .

1. FC Union Berlin has six injuries to report, five of which are expected to heal within the next two weeks. Serbian striker Andrej Ilić (illness) is the first name that will likely return to training, expected to recover in the next week. German centre-back Marvin Friedrich (unknown), French centre-back Stanley N'Soki (calf), Swiss winger Kastriot Imeri (thigh), and Scottish striker Oliver Burke (Achilles tendon) are all expected to return in mid-to-late September.

The only long-term injury is to German defender Andrik Markgraf (cruciate ligament), who will be unable to play for the club until March 2027 at the earliest.

On the other side of the field is FC Schalke 04 (0-1-1, 14th), who are coming off a surprising 0-0 draw with FC Bayern München and also have one point through two matches - with a +1 better goal differential at -3 (0-3), despite having failed to score on their six shots on target. Schalke are one of only three Bundesliga teams that have failed to register a goal through their first two matches, with the other two being another newly-promoted side in SC Paderborn 07 as well as Hamburger SV .

Miron Muslić played a conservative mode of defending in the match against Bayern, more centralised and without taking extreme risks close to the box - and it seemed to work well, as the Gelsenkirchen club managed just five fouls compared to twelve from Bayern. Two matches into the season, Schalke have committed the least fouls of any club in the Bundesliga (11), twelve less than Union Berlin (23) and twenty-two less than the team with the most, Hamburger SV (33).

Goalkeeping will also be a major factor in this match, with 33-year-old Loris Karius being a standout player with the Nordrhein-Westfalen club since his arrival in 2024/25. The Biberach, Baden-Württemberg-born keeper currently holds the league lead for saves per match, with 7,5, and his 83,3% save percentage is fourth-best. It is also worth noting that Karius' last Bundesliga season prior to this campaign was as a member of 1. FC Union Berlin, being loaned from Liverpool FC for four matches in the 2020/21 season.

FC Schalke 04 have a slightly shorter list of absences, with only three injuries and a suspension. Swiss right-back Adrian Gantenbein (ankle) is set to return in mid-to-late September, along with French forward Bryan Lasme (calf); Turkish midfielder Ayman Gülasi (unknown), who has since been moved down to the second team, will be unable to return until the end of the year.

German defensive midfielder Ron Schallenberg will not play in this match due to a two-match ban from the DFB Sports Tribunal, having picked up a red card for a tackle on FC Augsburg 's Michael Gregoritsch in the sixty-second minute of their first match at WWK Arena.