It is time to keep fighting. After the 1-0 win away at SC Freiburg last Saturday, SV Werder Bremen has the chance to get three more points at the wohninvest WESERSTADION. They take on fifth placed in the table Borussia Mönchengladbach on Tuesday night (26.05.20 20:30 CEST) and hope that the self-confidence they gained on the weekend can be used to improve the bad record they have at home and win some hugely important points in their fight against relegation.
The squad: While head coach Florian Kohfeldt said that his side had no major injuries in the last couple of weeks, that situation has changed somewhat ahead of the game against Gladbach. Philipp Bargfrede is suspended following the Freiburg game, and Kevin Vogt, who left the field injured against Freiburg, is a doubt. Full-back Marco Friedl, who also had to come off in that game, is available for the game, and Ludwig Augustinsson also makes a return from injury. All the other players managed to make it through the away game and are able to play. Johannes Eggestein and Nuri Sahin were, according to Kohfeldt, “not in the squad for tactical reasons”, and will be able to play against the Foals.
The head coach ahead of the game: “We are playing against an absolutely top side in the league. It will be a very, very difficult home fixture, but we can’t delay our push for anything. We have to try and score in every game and we will do that on Tuesday,” explains Florian Kohfeldt, identifying the clear task his team have to accomplish. The Werder Bremen coach is aware that the relegation fight is a race against time. “We won’t get many chances to score anymore. There are only eight games left,“ explains the Bremen coach. Of course, he is aware of his opposite number’s strengths. “Gladbach are incredibly good, especially in those transitional phases. At the moment of winning their own ball back, and losing possession, they will see a chance to regain possession and counter-attack, surprising an opponent.” The Werder coach emphasises the other team’s strengths. The 37-year-old coach wants to change his team to account for Gladbach’s “unbelievable force in the attacking third” and the resulting intense defensive work.
The last result: 3-1 was the final score on Matchday 11 in November of last year at Borussia Park in Mönchengladbach. The Werder team kept up well against the league leaders at the time, but missed too many chances as well as a penalty which Davy Klaassen missed at 0-2. Ramy Bensebaini's one and Patrick Herrmann's two goals saw Gladbach coast to victory, with Leonardo's Bittencourt goal in injury time coming too late for Werder.
End the home curse: Werder have only managed one home win in the current 2019/20 Bundesliga season. At the beginning of September, FC Augsburg was beaten at the wohninvest WESERSTADION by three goals to two on Matchday 3. Yuya Osako's brace and a Josh Sargent wondergoal ensured Werder took all three points. This was followed by ten consecutive home games without a win. The curse ends now!
The Next Goal: Werder's next home goal would be their 1900th in the club's history. Someone who could combine this club record with a personal one is Yuya Osako. The Japanese international on the cusp of his 150th Bundesliga appearance. Captain Niklas Moisander and his possible partner in central defense, Milos Veljkovic, are also facing memorable occasions. Both could play their 100th Bundesliga game - with all of their appearance for Werder Bremen.
Stay calm: Despite a tough encoutner, Bremen defensive players Milos Veljkovic and Kevin Vogt survived the game at SC Freiburg without a booking. That should also be the goal on Tuesday evening at the WESERSTADION, because otherwise they will be condemned to sit on the sidelines for the next match after accumulating too many yellow cards. A total of seven players are one booking away from a ban, including head coach Marco Rose.
Referee: Due to the ongoing situation, the German Football Association (DFB) will only announce the appointment of the team of referees on the matchday after a negative corona test result of the referees from the previous day.
