Ahead of the weekend, Florian Kohfeldt has “a feeling that it could happen.” Werder host RB Leipzig in the Weserstadion on Saturday (15:30 CEST) and are in with a chance of achieving their goal for the season. There’s also a stat in the Green-Whites’ favour, in four of the last five meetings, the home side has won.
Previous meeting: The last meeting in the Hinrunde of this season was full of action. The hosts went in front with a solo goal from Lukas Klostermann (32’), who fired high into the roof of the net and beyond the reach of Pavlenka. A defensive mix-up left Timo Werner free to roll Leipzig into a two-goal lead at half time. However, Werder came back in the second half. Max Kruse scored to get one back before Josh Sargent scored his second Bundesliga goal to equalise for the Green-Whites. Florian Kohfeldt then brought on Claudio Pizarro and threw everything forward, but RB Leipzig countered, with Bruma scoring the winner (87’).
The boss on the game: “It’s a team that does a lot very well, in my opinion, and they’ve been just as consistent as Bayern in the Rückrunde,” said Kohfeldt. He sees one of their strengths as coming to get the ball: “They press against you very well, it’s hard to play around and they attack the ball from every direction. You have to be very resistant to the stress. It won’t be a game in which we take control of the match. For us, it’s important to stay quite calm. We have to find ways where we can hit them – but we’ll do that!”
The opponents: Perhaps Leipzig’s strongest point is their defence. The side have conceded just 27 goals in 33 games, the best record in the Bundesliga this season. Their solid backline was on show again last time out against FC Bayern, putting a stop to the Champions’ attack, with the game finishing 0-0. Whilst Werder are still hoping for Europe on the final day, RB Leipzig have nothing more to play for in the league. Third in the table is guaranteed and with it, qualification for the Champions League. Their only game left this season is the DFB-Pokal final against FC Bayern. However, Maxi Eggestein doesn’t see this as an advantage: “It’s about getting yourself in the mix. Everyone wants to be involved in the game.” Werder will know exactly what RB Leipzig are about this weekend.
Squad news: There are still questions surrounding Max Kruse and whether the Werder captain can play in the game. Florian Kohfeldt is “sceptical”: “Max will try today, because he wants to do everything he can to play as he’s not trained for two weeks,” the head coach said on Thursday. Theodor Gebre Selassie will definitely miss the game after going off injured against Hoffenheim last weekend, meaning his season is over. “The rest are fit,” added Kohfeldt.
Key player: The key to RB Leipzig’s defence is goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi. The 29-year-old has kept 16 clean sheets this season. “In goal, he’s one of the best in the Bundesliga,” said Florian Kohfeldt. Gulacsi has conceded an average of 0.82 goals per game this season, the best such record in the league. It won’t just be difficult against Leipzig’s physical defenders on Saturday, Rashica and Co. will have a top goalkeeper to beat if they do break through. Werder scored twice in the game in the Hinrunde, and two goals would be very helpful this time out.
The officials: Dr. Felix Brych will referee the game. The last Werder game that he took charge of was the DFB-Pokal Last-16 game against Borussia Dortmund. The linesmen for the match are Mark Borsch and Stefan Lupp. The fourth official is Robert Hartmann, with Günter Perl and Michael Bacher the video assist referees.
