Saturday’s away game against FC Augsburg is a huge one! Both teams have seen the gap between themselves and the drop zone shrink over the past few weeks. A Werder win would be a huge step towards safety. “We’ve definitely improved in the last two games, which makes me optimistic. We need to fight hard and play well to win this nervy game,” said Florian Kohfeldt at the pre-match press conference.
Squad news: There is hope that Marco Friedl, Ömer Toprak and Manuel Mbom can all feature on Saturday. Milos Veljkovic is recovering from a knock suffered against Leverkusen, so a decision on him will be made late on.
The head coach on the game: Augsburg changed their coach just two weeks ago, with Markus Weinzierl replacing Heiko Herrlich. Even though they lost his first game in charge, Kohfeldt will not be underestimating the home team. “They will be ambitious and look to get in behind quickly. They will be a difficult opponent for sure.” Since Florian Kohfeldt took charge of Werder in November 2017, Werder have won five of their last six Bundesliga games against their upcoming opponents. However, statistics are not particularly important at this stage of the season. “We need bring fight and energy onto the pitch with us. We need to find the right way of playing in this game,” commented the 38-year-old.
The last meeting: SV Werder won 2-0 at home on matchday 16. A quiet first half saw few chances, before Bremen controlled the second 45 minutes, scoring through both full backs. Felix Agu, on his first start, assisted Theodor Gebre Selassie (84’) and then netted himself three minutes later to seal the win.
More defeats than ever before: FC Augsburg are on a three-game losing streak in the Bundesliga. Overall, they are a without a win in their last five matches. On top of this, FCA have suffered 17 league defeats in 2020/21 – their highest ever tally after 32 top-flight matchdays. Both sides have scored just 15 goals in the second half of the season – only Schalke (6) and Bielefeld (10) have managed fewer in this timeframe.
A good record vs. FCA: Werder ended a run of seven straight defeats by drawing 0-0 at home to Leverkusen last time out, the longest losing streak in the club’s top-flight history. Despite that point, SVW are still without a win in eight matches. The record against Augsburg, however, is encouraging. Bremen have won five of the last six meetings and have scored on all nine trips down south.
