Union Berlin vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf: Promotion a real aim for both sides

Union Berlin and Fortuna Düsseldorf are set to do battle at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei in Berlin on match day one of the 2015/16 2. Bundesliga season.

The home side have brought in a lot of fresh new faces to try to bolster up the squad while Fortuna will be hoping they can finally reach promotion after finishing in a disappointing tenth in the league last year.

Key Players

When you look at key players for Fortuna, you can look no further than their strike partnership in Didier Ya Konan and young Finnish sensation Joel Pohjanpalo; and the two careers could not be any more different.

Ya Konan will be joining his third club in as many years after stints in Saudi Arabia and a knee injury when he was at Hannover last season limited his playing time. He will be hoping that if he can stay healthy all season that he will bang in the goals just like old times. 20-year-old Pohjanpalo is on a quick rise to the top after an outstanding campaign last year where he scored 11 times in 29 matches, which is a fantastic output at his age. If he continues to progress in an upward direction, the sky is the limit for him.

In a summer that saw many new faces come into the squad it is quite hard to pick a couple that are really going to stand out this season. But we are going to go with American Bobby Wood. After a disappointing season with Erzgebirge Aue which ended in relegation, the 22-year-old will have to show that he is capable of scoring at this level after only finishing with three goals in nine matches played.

Team news

The visitors will be without two to start the season as midfielder Sérgio da Silvo Pinto and defender Chris Avevor. The Portuguese midfielder missed some time with a knee injury and will now sit out the beginning of the season with some discomfort in his jaw. Avevor, on the other hand, has a bone contusion and should be ready to play in the near future.

For Norbert Düwel's side, they will only be without Benjamin Köhler in this opening fixture and will be out for quite sometime as he was diagnosed with cancer that had been found in the lymphatic system.

Referee

Taking control of Sunday's clash will be 45-year-old veteran referee Günter Perl. The man in the middle has vast amounts of experience in charge as he switches between the first and second divisions of German football.

His last match in charge was near the end of the 2014/15 campaign when Mainz 05 defeated Werder Bremen by a score of 3-2. In this encounter, Mr. Perl handed out four yellows which is just about his average although it is not uncommon for him to hand out seven or more if he sees fit.