Union Berlin vs Ajax facts

Newcomers to springtime European football, Union Berlin have the opportunity to claim a famous scalp as they host Ajax, the UEFA Europa League knockout phase's most frequent participants, in the second leg of their play-off following a goalless draw in Amsterdam.

During the autumn Union took the runners-up spot in UEFA Europa League Group D, one point behind debutants Union Saint-Gilloise but two better off than competition regulars Braga, to progress further than ever before in European competition. The Dutch champions, meanwhile, finished third in UEFA Champions League Group A, losing twice to both Napoli and Liverpool but doing the double over Rangers to transfer to the UEFA Europa League in mid-campaign for the eighth time in the last 13 seasons.

Previous meetings

Union registered a record-equalling fifth successive clean sheet in the UEFA Europa League proper as they held Ajax to a 0-0 draw in the first leg at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, the home side failing to record a single shot on target throughout the 90 minutes.

Union's only previous encounters with Dutch opposition had come in last season's UEFA Europa Conference League group stage, where they lost twice to Feyenoord (1-3 a, 1-2 h).

Ajax have now faced German opponents 39 times, winning 23 of those matches and losing just eight. In Germany their record is W7 D5 L8, their last visit bringing a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage, while their sole previous match in Berlin ended in a 1-0 defeat by Hertha in the first leg of a 1974/75 UEFA Cup second round tie that Ajax won 4-2 on aggregate.

The Dutch club's record in two-legged ties against German sides is W10 L2, most recently defeating Schalke after extra time in the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals (2-0 h, 2-3 a). They also overcame Lokomotive Leipzig 1-0 in the 1987 European Cup Winners' Cup final.

Form guide

Union

Fifth in the 2021/22 Bundesliga with 57 points at the end of only their third season in Germany's top flight, Union thus made it back-to-back European qualifications, having been their country's inaugural representatives in the UEFA Europa Conference League last season.

Urs Fischer's side failed to qualify from a UEFA Europa Conference League group containing Feyenoord, Slavia Praha and Maccabi Haifa, having reached that stage with a qualifying play-off win against Finnish side KuPS Kuopio.

This is the Berlin club's first season in the UEFA Europa League. Granted direct access to the group stage, they were up against it after losing their first two matches, both 1-0, at home to Union SG and away to Braga, but recovered to win their four remaining games, also all 1-0, including a double against Malmö.

Union have won their last two European games in the German capital, making their all-time record at home in UEFA competition W4 D2 L3. The four victories have all come with clean sheets.

Union won the only previous European tie in which they drew the first leg away. It came in their maiden UEFA contest, in the first round of the 2001/02 UEFA Cup, when they won 3-0 at home against Haka after drawing the first leg 1-1 in Finland.

Ajax

Ajax claimed their record 36th Dutch title in 2021/22, their third in succession after triumphs in 2019 and 2021 with no title awarded in 2020. It proved their last under Erik ten Hag, who departed for Manchester United, his former assistant Alfred Schreuder joining from Club Brugge as his replacement. Schreuder was dismissed on 26 January and replaced on an interim basis by youth team coach John Heitinga.

Winners of their UEFA Champions League group last season with maximum points – the first Dutch club to achieve that feat – before losing out in the round of 16 to Benfica (2-2 a, 0-1 h), Ajax managed just six points this term, the two wins against Rangers (4-0 h, 3-1 a) offset by defeats against Liverpool (1-2 a, 0-3 h) and Napoli (1-6 h, 2-4 a), the Amsterdam reverse against the Italian club their heaviest at home in UEFA competition.

While Ajax are in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase for a record tenth time – one more than Napoli, Olympiacos, Sporting CP and Salzburg – they have been eliminated on entry on five of the previous nine occasions and have ventured beyond the round of 16 just twice – in 2016/17, when they finished runners-up to Manchester United, and on their last appearance in 2020/21, when they reached the quarter-finals before going out to Roma (1-2 h, 1-1 a). The Amsterdam club were UEFA Cup winners in 1991/92.

Ajax are on a four-game unbeaten away run in springtime UEFA competition (W2 D2), losing just one of their last eight such fixtures (W5 D2). Their record on the road in the UEFA Europa League knockout phase is W5 D3 L8.

Ajax have lost nine of the 13 UEFA competition ties in which they drew the home first leg, but were victorious in the most recent, defeating Juventus in the quarter-finals of the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League (1-1 h, 2-1 a). They have been eliminated in all three previous instances when they were held to a goalless draw at home in the first leg, most recently by AC Milan in the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals (2-3 a).

UEFA Europa League squad changes

Union Berlin

In: Josip Juranović (Celtic), Aïssa Laïdouni (Ferencváros), Jérôme Roussillon (Wolfsburg)
Out: Mathis Bruns (Lecce, loan), Genki Haraguchi (Stuttgart), Tymoteusz Puchacz, Julian Ryerson (Borussia Dortmund), Fabio Schneider, Tim Skarke

Ajax

In: Gerónimo Rulli (Villarreal)
Out: Daley Blind (Bayern München), Giovanni (Fluminense), Jay Gorter (Aberdeen, loan), Jeppe Jensen (Bodø/Glimt), Lisandro Magallán (Elche), Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla, end loan), Kik Pierie (Excelsior, loan)

Links and trivia 

Union's Amsterdam-born Suriname international winger Sheraldo Becker, who has started all seven of the club's UEFA Europa League fixtures, began his career with Ajax, coming through their academy and representing the club at youth level but never featuring for the first team. He later played in the Netherlands for PEC Zwolle (2015/16 loan) and ADO Den Haag (2016–19), scoring for the latter past current Ajax goalkeeper Remko Pasveer in a 1-0 win against Vitesse in 2017/18.

Union's Dutch defender Danilho Doekhi is another former Jong Ajax player. He joined Vitesse in 2018 and spent the next three seasons with the Arnhem club as a team-mate of Pasveer. Doekhi also played alongside two other current Ajax players, Owen Wijndal and Jurriën Timber, for the Netherlands Under-21 side.

Union's Timo Baumgartl and Ajax's Steven Bergwijn were PSV Eindhoven team-mates from July 2019 to January 2020. The former is on loan at Union from the Dutch club.

Union's Norwegian midfielder Morten Thorsby spent five seasons in the Netherlands with Heerenveen, scoring 12 goals in 115 Eredivisie appearances.

Ajax players with Bundesliga experience are Davy Klaassen (Werder Bremen 2018–20), Florian Grillitsch (Werder Bremen 2015–17, Hoffenheim 2017–22) and Brian Brobbey (RB Leipzig 2021/22).

Klaassen scored a penalty in Bremen's 2-1 away win against Union in the 2019/20 Bundesliga. Union's Kevin Möhwald is a former Bremen team-mate.

Grillitsch and Union's long-serving skipper Christopher Trimmel have both played international football for Austria.

Union's Diogo Leite and Ajax's Francisco Conceição played together for Porto in 2020/21.

New Ajax goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli won the UEFA Europa League with Villarreal in 2021/22, saving the decisive penalty in the final shoot-out against Manchester United that the Spanish side won 11-10.

Union have become the eighth club to keep a clean sheet in five successive UEFA Europa League matches, group stage to final, joining Napoli, Salzburg, Arsenal, Villarreal, Manchester United, Basel and Dinamo Zagreb. They will claim the record for themselves if they make it six at home to Ajax.

The Berlin club missed the chance to go two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga when they were held 0-0 at home by bottom club Schalke on Sunday. Instead they are in third place, level on points with Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund. Ajax, meanwhile, made it four Eredivisie wins in a row by beating Sparta Rotterdam 4-0 at home to remain second in the table, three points behind Feyenoord.

Penalty shoot-outs

Union have yet to feature in a UEFA penalty shoot-out.

Ajax's record in six UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L5:
3-5 v Levski Sofia, 1975/76 UEFA Cup third round
0-3 v Juventus, 1977/78 European Cup quarter-final
2-4 v Bohemians Praha, 1984/85 UEFA Cup second round
4-3 v Grêmio, 1995 European/South American Cup
2-4 v Juventus, 1995/96 UEFA Champions League final
2-4 v Steaua Bucureşti, 2012/13 UEFA Europa League round of 32