As part of Werder’s Opening Weekend (WOW), Florian Kohfeldt’s side will play two friendlies on Saturday. The first of those games will kick off at 15:00 CEST in the Heinz-Dettmer-Stadion against Dutch side FC Groningen. Bundesliga 2 outfit FC St. Pauli will then take on another Werder side at the same ground at 17:15 CEST. Both games will be shown live on WERDER.TV and Youtube.
The squad: 27 players completed the last training session ahead of the double matchday on Friday afternoon. Almost all of those players are available to play, according to head coach Florian Kohfeldt. Kevin Möhwald may not be able to complete a full game though. The midfielder, who made his return from injury after a year out in the 4-2 win over SC Austria Lustenau, left training early on Friday after turning his left ankle. Initial scans have shown no serious injury though. “Currently I am expecting him to play,” said Kohfeldt. Niklas Moisander, Josh Sargent and Milot Rashica, who have all had slight knocks recently, will all definitely feature. Christian Groß, who didn’t travel to Zillertal for the training camp due to personal reasons, will also be back involved. Milos Veljkovic and Ömer Toprak won’t play in Lohne, with Kohfeldt not wanting to take any risks. All other Werder players should get plenty of minutes, said Kohfeldt.
The opponents: Groningen and SV Werder Bremen have faced off before in a pre-season friendly. Two years ago, Werder travelled to the Netherlands and played out a 0-0 draw at Groningen. 11 current SVW players were involved that day. Groningen were ninth in the Eredivisie table before the league was annulled after the coronavirus pandemic began. Danny Buijs’ side will be hoping for a good test as they step up their preparations ahead of their league opener against PSV Eindhoven on 13th September. Their big summer signing, Arjen Robben, will not travel to Lohne for the game against Florian Kohfeldt’s side.
Werder and St. Pauli last met in a friendly just under a year ago. The Hamburg-based side won 1-0 at the Millerntor Stadion back then, although they have replaced coach Jos Luhukay with Timo Schultz since then. Schultz is a former Werder U19s and U23s player, but he never worked with Florian Kohfeldt during his time in Bremen. Werder’s coach is expecting “things which we will have to face in the league, so they are two important games.”
The head coach on both games: When asked about the importance of the two friendlies, Florian Kohfeldt said “they will be a test of our fitness and endurance.” For many Werder players it will be the first time this pre-season that they have played the full 90 minutes. This won’t be the case with Groningen. “They are a bit further ahead as they have played more games. St. Pauli are at a similar stage to us,” added the Werder coach. The style of football that both teams play will differ according to Kohfeldt. While Groningen are expected to press SVW, St. Pauli are likely to work on their “defensive stability.” One thing is for sure though: “I expect both teams to challenge us – which is exactly what I want,” stated Kohfeldt ahead of the double matchday.
