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Give it everything against the runners-up
MATCH PREVIEW AHEAD OF THE HOME GAME AGAINST BORUSSIA DORTMUND
15/05/26
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With their minds finally at ease, Werder can attempt to hit the limit one last time this campaign. The Green-Whites welcome Borussia Dortmund to the Weserstadion on Saturday, 16th May, at 15:30 CEST for matchday 34 of the current Bundesliga season. There are no longer any huge stakes attached to the meeting between these two giants of German football. Werder secured their top-flight status for another year last weekend, while BVB celebrated securing second place. Nevertheless, head coach Daniel Thioune’s side will be eager to head into the summer break on a high after back-to-back defeats, and could still climb a couple of places in the table with a positive result in front of the home crowd.
Latest squad update: First, one of the more emotionally charged personnel updates of the season: Leonardo Bittencourt, who has been sidelined with a muscular injury of late, returns to the matchday squad for his final home appearance in a Werder shirt. Alongside the suspended Yukinari Sugawara, Maximilian Wöber will also be unavailable due to illness. Karl Hein (thumb injury), Julian Malatini (syndesmosis ligament tear), Keke Topp (ACL) and Mitchell Weiser (ACL) all remain out for the final day of 2025/26.
Head coach Daniel Thioune on the opponent: “We’re facing the second-best team in Germany. If Dortmund line up with a back three and push their full-backs high up the pitch, we’ll need to apply pressure early because you can expect deep runs from those players. If Guirassy starts up front, he’s also a key presence up top who can hold the ball up and bring others into play. On top of that, they have a lot of tactical flexibility, with holding midfielders who are capable of drifting wide.”
Previous encounters: Werder suffered a 3-0 defeat away to a clinical Dortmund side in the reverse fixture earlier this season. The last meeting on the Weser, meanwhile, ended goalless in the last campaign. Werder’s most recent victory against BVB came in dramatic fashion in 2022, when the Green-Whites fought back for a sensational 3-2 stoppage-time win at Signal Iduna Park. To find the last home win against Dortmund, however, you have to go back another two years, when Werder triumphed 3-2 in the DFB-Pokal round of 16 in 2020.
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13th place still within reach: The match may not have major significance for the final standings, particularly for Dortmund, who are already guaranteed to finish second with 70 points under Niko Kovač. Werder, however, could still move up two places. The Green-Whites currently sit 15th on 32 points, level with 1. FC Köln, who travel to champions Bayern Munich. In theory, Borussia Mönchengladbach are also still catchable, though the Foals are three points ahead and boast a goal difference six better than Werder’s. Reaching 13th would therefore require both a sizeable win and a little help from Hoffenheim.
Match officials: Bastian Dankert will referee Werder’s clash with Borussia Dortmund, assisted by René Rohde and Stefan Lupp. Jarno Wienefeld will serve as fourth official, while Johann Pfeifer and Markus Sinn are on VAR duty.
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