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Ready for derby day
MATCH PREVIEW AHEAD OF THE HOME GAME AGAINST HAMBURGER SV
17/04/26
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The Nordderby is finally returning to the Weserstadion. The last Bundesliga battle in Bremen between SV Werder and arch-rivals Hamburger SV took place over eight years ago. This Saturday, 18th April, SVW will kick off against their Hanseatic neighbours at 15:30 CEST in a bid to grab all three crucial points at home, a result that would not only put the two sides level on points, but also be a crucial step in the Green-Whites’ fight to stay in the division. Read the full match preview here.
Latest squad news: Daniel Thioune will once again be able to call on Cameron Puertas for matchday 30. The midfielder, who has become something of a fixture in the starting XI since Thioune took the reins at Werder, missed the trip to Köln through a yellow-card suspension, but is back available for the Nordderby this weekend. Marco Friedl, however, will miss out on Saturday, having been shown a straight red card in the game against Effzeh. Vice-captain Jens Stage is a doubt for the game, having been training individually as of late. The head coach refused to rule out a spot in the squad for Maximilian Wöber and Victor Boniface. Karl Hein (thumb injury), Julian Malatini (syndesmosis tear in ankle), Mitchell Weiser (ACL tear) and Keke Topp (ACL tear) are all still sidelined.
Head coach Daniel Thioune on what will matter against HSV: “We lacked precision in the final third against Köln, and I wasn’t too impressed with the body language of some players. I want to see us have more bite on Saturday. We’ve been practising how we transition from defence to attack and vice versa. We expect HSV to sit back and look to hit us on the counter-attack. I’m not focusing on HSV’s squad situation.”
Previous encounters: As a seven-year-long hiatus of the Nordderby being contested in the Bundesliga came to an end on matchday 13 of this current season, HSV ran out 3-2 winners at the Volksparkstadion. Werder led at half time thanks to a Jens Stage strike, although it wasn’t enough to secure even a single point for the Green-Whites in Hamburg. Justin Njinmah scored Werder’s second goal of the day. The last time the teams met on the Weser, it was still HSV who came out on top, with Werder’s derby rivals securing a 2-0 win in the 2. Bundesliga tie. Werder can look back fondly on their home form against their opponent in the German top flight, however – SVW were victorious in their last two Bundesliga Nordderby clashes in Bremen in 2017 (2-1) and 2018 (1-0).
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Shared struggles up top: So far in the 2025/26 season, SVW and HSV have scored 32 goals each. Alongside 1. FC Heidenheim (also 32 goals), only FC St. Pauli have found the back of the net less often than their northern neighbours. In the visitors’ case, no player has managed to strike true more than five times this season. Fabio Vieira, Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Luka Vuskovic and Rayan Philippe have all hit that mark this season. Werder’s top scorer this season is Jens Stage, currently on 7 goals.
Officials: Dr Florian Exner will lead the officiating team at the Weserstadion this weekend. The 35-year-old has so far taken charge of 11 Bundesliga fixtures in 2025/26, although this weekend’s derby marks his first involvement with SV Werder Bremen this season. Nikolai Kimmeyer and Stefan Lupp will support Exner from the touchlines, while the fourth official is Harm Osmers. Katrin Rafalski and Thorsten Schiffner will oversee the VAR for the clash.
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