Secure safety: The 1-1 draw at home to RB Leipzig was another important step towards ensuring Bundesliga football next season. “We would have loved to have won last week because it would have put it beyond doubt. So for the minute we’re still not out of the woods,” said Max Kruse with a smirk but also with slight concern as Werder still need to pick up points in order to be mathematically safe. The Green-Whites therefore will be looking to put this matter to bed on Saturday and break the 40 point mark at the same time. “Our desire to secure safety is very high,” explained head coach Florian Kohfeldt in the pre-match press conference on Thursday. Werder have a seven point gap to Freiburg who currently sit in the playoff place in 16th. Werder boast a far superior goal difference to Freiburg; +2 in comparison to -24 but head coach Kohfeldt has only one thing in his mind, “We have to get away from thinking about the table situation. Instead we just need to think about how much we want to win our next game.” Kohfeldt and his boys will be looking to get a huge three points on the board away from home and be, as Max Kruse put it, “safe beyond doubt”.
Florian Kohfeldt on the game: VfB Stuttgart will no doubt be a difficult test for the Green-Whites. Tayfun Korkut and his team have improved significantly since their change of manager, as Kohfeldt noticed, “The improvemenst they have made under their new manager is impressive. I think that they are the most disciplined team in the league.” He and his backroom staff have already looked at Stuttgart’s strengths and weaknesses. “They defend well and are tough to play against because they concede very few goals. In Mario Gomez they have a player who can decide games on his own and to whom we can’t afford to give chances,” explained coach Kohfeldt. “We need to be aggressive in getting the ball back and be well disciplined with our formation so that we give Stuttgart little room to manoeuvre,” continued Kohfeldt. Long periods of possession for Stuttgart should not be expected as SVW will go out there and try to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. “We need to be patient and capitalise on the chances we get. We need to let out quality shine through,” explained Kohfeldt.
