In a strong position

Match preview ahead of trip to Mönchengladbach

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Ilia Gruev shielding the ball from Gladbach's Joe Scally.
Werder will need to be fully focused this weekend once again (Photo: W.DE).
preliminary report
Thursday, 16.03.2023 / 15:47

SV Werder Bremen travel to face Borussia Mönchengladbach on Friday night (17/03/2023, 20:30 CET). After suffering back-to-back defeats and having managed 30 points from 24 games, some have started drawing parallels between the club’s relegation campaign two seasons ago and now. It’s a narrative that head coach Ole Werner disputed during the pre-match press conference on Thursday. “We have put ourselves in a strong position going into the final third of the season. We’re looking at how we will be able to be successful in our upcoming games. Our full focus is on the challenge we have, which is to prepare ourselves for a tough opponent,” he said.

Team news: Werner will be without several players this weekend. In addition to Felix Agu and Manuel Mbom (both carrying long-term injuries), Christian Groß, Marco Friedl, Leonardo Bittencourt (all ill) and Milos Veljkovic (muscle problems) will also all miss the game against Gladbach. “It’s obviously not a good situation to be in,” Werner commented. “But, it is what it is. We have a floodlight game against Gladbach coming up tomorrow. We can look forward to travelling there. Afterwards, we have two weeks without a game, after which we will hopefully have everyone back to full fitness.”

The head coach on the game: "Gladbach are a team with a lot of individual quality. They are strong and precise on the ball. They also have a lot of experience in their squad, with several players who have been able to gather experience at the highest level in the Bundesliga and national team for many years now. Overall, they are a strong side who define themselves by playing good football. That has been the case all season, and they have been able to pick up many points at home as a result.”

Late goals and Füllkrug’s favourite opponents

The most recent meeting: This will be the 106th Bundesliga game between the sides, with Werder winning 38 times, drawing on 25 occasions and losing 41 encounters. The reverse fixture this season will live long in the memory of Werder fans everywhere: after a flurry of goals in the first half, the Green-Whites took a 4-0 lead with them into the break. They ended up winning 5-1, their biggest victory in the Bundesliga so far this season.

Niclas Füllkrug celebrates after scoring against Gladbach.
Niclas Füllkrug is hoping to score against Gladbach again this weekend (Photo: W.DE).

Different fortunes in the final minutes: SV Werder have scored 14 goals in the final 15 minutes of games this season, a joint league best together with RB Leipzig. Gladbach, meanwhile, have shipped a league high six goals in this timeframe of matches.

Füllkrug’s favourite opponents: Niclas Füllkurg has been involved in more Bundesliga goals against Gladbach than against any other side. The striker has had a hand in six goals against the Foals (4 goals, 2 assists). He scored twice and provided an assist in SVW’s 5-1 win against Borussia earlier this season, the third time he has been involved in three goals in a single top-flight match.

Statistics compiled by WERDER.DE and Opta.

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