Florian Kohfeldt is determined to do things better. “We really want to show everyone the football that we stand for this year and how hungry we are.” Werder’s head coach describes the start of the 2020/21 Bundesliga season as “a new chapter”. His side will write the first page on Saturday 19th September at 15:30 CEST against Hertha BSC. 8,500 fans are allowed to attend the fixture; the first time the wohninvest WESERSTADION will host supporters since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Squad news: The Werder coach talks about a “very good situation” regarding player availability, which isn’t something that could be said too often in the recent past. Only Ömer Toprak, Milot Rashica and Kevin Möhwald (see article) will be unavailable for the 37-year-old head coach. Milos Veljkovic has returned from injury and is available. Competition for places is great; Kohfeldt can call upon eight players in attack. Just like last season, 16 players will be able to take part in the game as five substitutions are permitted.
Kohfeldt on the game: Starting the season with a home game is a good thing for the Green-Whites, no doubt. And it’s even better that fans will be allowed in the wohninvest WESERSTADION for the start of the season. But Hertha BSC represent an ambitious opponent, and losing to second-division side Eintracht Braunschweig (5-4) last week in the DFB-Pokal doesn’t change anything. “We have the greatest respect for Hertha. They’ll be challenging for at least a spot in the Europa League with their individual quality,” says Florian Kohfeldt. He knows what to expect from ex-Bremen man Bruno Labbadia’s side: “The team will be aggressive and well-organised, that’s what Bruno stands for. We’ll have to face up to that.”
The previous encounter: It seems an eternity ago that Werder played a Bundesliga match with fans in attendance. The last time was on 7/3/2020, when Werder made the trip to the Olympic Stadium to face Hertha BSC. Werder began the game brilliantly that day; Josh Sargent (3’) and Davy Klaassen (6’) made it a dream start. The early lead didn’t last, however, as Niklas Stark (41’) and Matheus Cunha (60’) made it 2-2 at full time.
Favoured opposition: SV Werder Bremen are unbeaten in 13 league games against the ‘Old Lady’, winning five and drawing eight. It’s the Green-Whites’ longest unbeaten run against any of the current Bundesliga sides. Hertha’s winless run against Werder is their longest against any side.
Improvement needed: Werder’s record at home last season was one to forget – they won only two league matches in the wohninvest WESERSTADION all season. That meant that the club won just 29% of their total points in Bremen. The last victory at home was the 34th matchday at the end of July, when Werder crucially beat 1. FC Köln 6-1. It’s time to improve on that record.
The referee: The German Football Association (DFB) will not confirm who will referee the weekend’s fixtures until matchday. This is due to the Coronavirus pandemic; each referee must test negative for Coronavirus the day before the fixture.
