diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index da2d9defca..643ae5df0e 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -326,6 +326,12 @@ CHANGES WITH 239 in spe:
           system namespacing options. One such service is systemd-udevd.service
           wher this is now used by default.
 
+        * A new unit "system-update-pre.target" is added, which defines an
+          optional synchronization point for offline system updates, as
+          implemented by the pre-existing "system-update.target" unit. It
+          allows ordering services before the service that executes the actual
+          update process in a generic way.
+
         Contributions from: Adam Duskett, Alan Jenkins, Alessandro Casale,
         Alexander Kurtz, Alex Gartrell, Anssi Hannula, Arnaud Rebillout, Brian
         J. Murrell, Bruno Vernay, Chris Lesiak, Christian Brauner, Christian
diff --git a/man/systemd.special.xml b/man/systemd.special.xml
index 2776276a1d..fb12805fff 100644
--- a/man/systemd.special.xml
+++ b/man/systemd.special.xml
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@
     <filename>swap.target</filename>,
     <filename>sysinit.target</filename>,
     <filename>system-update.target</filename>,
+    <filename>system-update-pre.target</filename>,
     <filename>time-sync.target</filename>,
     <filename>timers.target</filename>,
     <filename>umount.target</filename>,
@@ -658,6 +659,7 @@
       </varlistentry>
       <varlistentry>
         <term><filename>system-update.target</filename></term>
+        <term><filename>system-update-pre.target</filename></term>
         <term><filename>system-update-cleanup.service</filename></term>
         <listitem>
           <para>A special target unit that is used for offline system updates.
@@ -667,12 +669,13 @@
           <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd.offline-updates</refentrytitle><manvolnum>7</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
           </para>
 
-          <para>Updates should happen before the <filename>system-update.target</filename> is
-          reached, and the services which implement them should cause the machine to reboot. As
-          a safety measure, if this does not happen, and <filename>/system-update</filename>
-          still exists after <filename>system-update.target</filename> is reached,
-          <filename>system-update-cleanup.service</filename> will remove this symlink and
-          reboot the machine.</para>
+          <para>Updates should happen before the <filename>system-update.target</filename> is reached, and the services
+          which implement them should cause the machine to reboot. The main units executing the update should order
+          themselves after <filename>system-update-pre.target</filename> but not pull it in. Services which want to run
+          during system updates only, but before the actual system update is executed should order themselves before
+          this unit and pull it in. As a safety measure, if this does not happen, and
+          <filename>/system-update</filename> still exists after <filename>system-update.target</filename> is reached,
+          <filename>system-update-cleanup.service</filename> will remove this symlink and reboot the machine.</para>
         </listitem>
       </varlistentry>
       <varlistentry>
diff --git a/units/system-update-pre.target b/units/system-update-pre.target
index dbd9ad92ec..163b75c220 100644
--- a/units/system-update-pre.target
+++ b/units/system-update-pre.target
@@ -13,4 +13,3 @@ Documentation=man:systemd.offline-updates(7)
 Documentation=man:systemd.special(7) man:systemd-system-update-generator(8)
 RefuseManualStart=yes
 After=sysinit.target
-Before=system-update.target
diff --git a/units/system-update.target b/units/system-update.target
index b52a494892..be007e306d 100644
--- a/units/system-update.target
+++ b/units/system-update.target
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ Description=Offline System Update
 Documentation=man:systemd.offline-updates(7)
 Documentation=man:systemd.special(7) man:systemd-system-update-generator(8)
 Requires=sysinit.target
-After=sysinit.target
+After=sysinit.target system-update.target
 AllowIsolate=yes
-Wants=system-update-pre.target
 Wants=system-update-cleanup.service