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Ready to build on success in Berlin
MATCH PREVIEW AHEAD OF THE GAME AWAY AT 1. FC UNION BERLIN
07/03/26
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SV Werder Bremen will be buoyed with a renewed sense of confidence as they head to Köpenick this Sunday, 8th March, for a 17:30 CET kick-off at Union Berlin. The Green-Whites will be determined to pick up another crucial victory after seeing off 1. FC Heidenheim last weekend, with every point vital in this year’s fight to avoid relegation.
Latest squad news: There are doubts surrounding the fitness of Jovan Milošević. The Serbian striker suffered a back contusion in the 2-0 win over Heidenheim and is yet to train with the team this week. Karim Coulibaly, Samuel Mbangula (both thigh injury), Felix Agu (adductor injury), Maximilian Wöber (muscular issues), Amos Pieper (minor procedure) and Wesley Adeh (ligament tear) will not be available for Sunday’s game. Mitchell Weiser (anterior cruciate ligament tear) and Victor Boniface (knee surgery) are both suffering long-term injuries and remain unavailable.
Head coach Daniel Thioune on 1. FC Union Berlin: “They operate in a fairly similar way to Heidenheim. Physicality is at the forefront of how they approach the game. They also have a lot of pace in the team, and so it’s important that we set up in such a way as to not get stung on the counter. They often look to dominate on second balls, which is not to say that they’re incapable of building up more intentionally. They also pose a real threat from set-pieces. Ultimately, we know that they’ll likely generate a lot of opportunities for themselves, especially in front of a home crowd, and we need to be effective in how we defend against that.”
The formation conundrum: There has been much interest in the way head coach Daniel Thioune has tinkered with the formation since his appointment, particularly concerning the backline. The 51-year-old used a back-four system for the game against 1. FC Heidenheim for the first time since taking the reins at SVW. Werder also set up with two central defenders for the reverse fixture against Union, which saw the Green-Whites run out 1-0 winners under the lights of the Weserstadion. Thioune wasn’t prepared to reveal which system he would opt for on Sunday night. You can read all of what he had to say about the system debate, and plenty more, in the press conference article.
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Time to end another streak? The Green-Whites finally managed to put an end to their extended winless run last weekend with a 2-0 victory over 1. FC Heidenheim. Now seems like the perfect time to bring another unwanted run to an end – SVW have failed to win at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei since 2019, with the side having been unable to leave Köpenick with three points in any of their last five attempts. That doesn’t mean Werder have no clue as to how to overcome Union, though. They’ve taken nine points from their last three home games against the club from the capital. In the reverse fixture this season, Marco Grüll made the difference with a scintillating strike – the only goal of the night in a 1-0 win for Werder.
Our Union specialists: Speaking of Marco Grüll – the Austria international is one of a couple of Green-Whites who have historically proved to be more than clinical when facing this weekend’s opposition. Grüll has three goals in his last three games against head coach Steffen Baumgart’s side. Jens Stage can claim the same record. Each of them managed to bag a brace in last season’s encounters with the Berlin outfit – Grüll struck twice in our 4-1 win at the Weserstadion, while Stage doubled up to score both of our goals in a 2-2 draw in the capital for them.
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