SV Werder Bremen will open matchday 6 at home against FC Augsburg on Friday evening (9th September, 20:30 CEST). Head coach Ole Werner is hoping to see a disciplined performance from his side. “We have good chances of winning if we have a clear structure and remain compact, both on and off the ball. We want to play well and be in control and dictate the pace of the game,” he said in the pre-match press conference.
The squad: Lee Buchanan will be available this weekend, having missed the game in Bochum due to injury. Leonardo Bittencourt will miss out once again after suffering an upper torso strain. “It’s a very painful injury,” said Werner. “As a result, it’s difficult to predict how long it might take. We will try to increase his workload over the coming weeks. Right now, he’s progressing slowly. We have to take it week by week.” Manuel Mbom and Dikeni Salifou continue to work on their comebacks.
The head coach on the opponent: "I'm expecting a physical team, as we’ve come to expect from Augsburg, that won't allow many goal-scoring opportunities given their defensive organisation. FCA have had some problems creating clear-cut chances this season. However, they have also been without certain key players so far. We have to be ready for an intense and physical game and are expecting them to look to play it long quickly,” he explained.
Recent meetings: SVW have faced FCA 24 times so far across all competitions. The record is nearly balanced, with 11 wins for Werder to FCA’s 10 (D3). The last meeting at the wohninvest WESERSTADION took place in January 2021, with late goals from Theodor Gebre Selassie and Felix Agu securing a 2-0 win for the hosts.
Strong at home: Werder Bremen have won each of their last three Bundesliga home games against FC Augsburg. The Green-Whites don’t have a longer ongoing winning streak at home in the Bundesliga against any other current top-flight side.
Personal best: Spanning multiple seasons, Niclas Füllkrug have scored in five of his last six Bundesliga games (only exception was the 3-2 win in Dortmund). Five goals after the first five matchdays of the season are a new personal best for him in the Bundesliga. The last Werder players to have scored as often at this stage of a campaign were Miroslav Klose (6) and Ivan Klasnic (5) in 2005/06.
Compiled by WERDER.DE and Opta.
