SV Werder Bremen will come up against 15th-placed VfB Stuttgart, a fellow competitor in the race to stay up. On Sunday (04/02/2023, 15:30 CET), the Green-Whites will looking to take three important points off the Swabians and extend their winning streak to two games. Stuttgart, who brought in a new head coach last year and two new signings over the winter break, are also looking to get back on track.
Squad news: In addition to Romano Schmid (MCL tear) and Felix Agu (patellar tendon issues), Manuel Mbom (calf muscle stiffness) and Mitchell Weiser (yellow-card suspension) will also miss Sunday’s match. New signing Maximilian Philipp did not train recently due to ankle pain. “He rolled his ankle in training yesterday,” head coach Ole Werner shared at the pre-match press conference on Friday. “He’s a doubt at the moment, but we’re hoping he will be back on the pitch tomorrow and will be able to feature against Stuttgart.” Leonardo Bittencourt, who missed the win against Wolfsburg due to illness, will be able to return this weekend.
The opponent: Stuttgart are in the bottom third of the table with 16 points from 18 games. They have only been worse off at this stage twice before, and were relegated at the end of both campaigns. In order to avoid dropping down to the second division again, the Swabians brought in reinforcements ahead of the winter break. Head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo was let go in October, as Bruno Labbadia returned for his second stint in charge of the club. The 2007 Bundesliga champions were also active in the transfer market over the break, bringing in Genki Haraguchi and Gil Dias in order to replace Naouirou Ahamada and Alexis Tibidi. “They are very compact and aggressive in defence. The spirit within VfB’s team is also high, just like ours. It could therefore be a very entertaining match,” Werner said.
Recent meetings: The two sides will meet for the 108th time in the Bundesliga, making this one of the most played fixtures in league history. The record between the sides is nearly balanced, with 35 wins for Werder compared to 38 for Stuttgart. Goals are basically guaranteed, with an average of over three per game in this match-up. The most recent meeting between the clubs in Bremen earlier this season ended in a 2-2 draw, with Werder netting a late equaliser.
Füllkrug strikes again: Niclas Füllkrug opened the scoring for the sixth time this season against Wolfsburg last time out – a league high. His first goal to make it 1-0 this season came against Stuttgart on matchday 2, when he put the Green-Whites ahead after just four minutes. 'Fülle' has scored 13 goals so far this season, and the last Werder player to find the back of the net as often at this stage of a top-flight campaign was Miroslav Klose in 2005/06 (16 goals after 19 matchdays – finished as the league’s top goalscorer).
Werner unbeaten: Head coach Ole Werner is undefeated in three games against VfB Stuttgart. In addition to drawing 2-2 against the Swabians earlier this season, Werner also did the double over VfB with Holstein Kiel in the second division in 2019/20 (1-0, 3-2) – Stuttgart were promoted at the end of the season.
Compiled by WERDER.DE and Opta.
