Union Berlin come into this one with a point to prove. That 2-4 home friendly defeat to Ipswich Town at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei will have stung. Pre-season results can be misleading, but shipping four at your own place, against a mid-table Premier League side, raises eyebrows. The Köpenick crowd expects a reaction. Union are a team built on intensity, on making that old, atmospheric ground a fortress. They will be desperate to put that right in front of their own fans on the opening Bundesliga weekend.

Eintracht Frankfurt, meanwhile, have looked sharp in their warm-up games. They scored seven in a friendly against Giessen and kept clean sheets in their last two outings, beating Hull 2-0 and Mannheim 1-0. Hugo Larsson has been pulling the strings in midfield, already on the scoresheet and completing 39 passes in his last run-out. Jonathan Burkardt is moving well and converted his chance against Hull. There is a rhythm to their play. But note the caveat: that defeat to Brentford, where Robin Koch went off with a concussion, shows they are not invincible. The gap in quality against lower-league sides is one thing; Union Berlin at home is a different beast entirely.