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Previewing our season opener against Hannover 96

osh Sargent in action against Feyenoord.
Josh Sargent scored four goals in pre-season (Photo: nordphoto).
preliminary report
Friday, 23.07.2021 / 17:57

The wait is over! On Saturday (24/04/2021), SV Werder Bremen get their Bundesliga 2 season underway. In an evening kick-off at 20:30 CEST, the Green-Whites welcome Hannover 96 to the wohninvest WESERSTADION. For the first time in around ten months, fans will be allowed in the stadium, with approximately 14,000 supporters to be permitted inside the ground. “I hope that we can generate a good atmosphere in the stadium tomorrow. We’re responsible for that as a team, and I hope that that spark will then spread to the stands. It finally gets going tomorrow, I’m really looking forward to our first home game,” said head coach Markus Anfang in the pre-match press conference.

Team news: Werder will not be at full strength and Markus Anfang will have to make do without six players. Leonardo Bittencourt (knee ligament), Nicolai Rapp (muscular problems), Milos Veljkovic (quarantine), Abdenego Nankishi (muscular problems), Jiri Pavlenka (back injury) and Eren Dinkci (suspension) are unavailable. The game also comes too soon for Ludwig Augustinsson, who only returned to Bremen this week. However, his Werder teammate Marco Friedl, who also took part in the European Championship, will be in the squad. Question marks remain over Nick Woltemade and Stefanos Kapino’s involvement in this weekend’s game.

 

"Passion, resilience, will and a lot of mentality"

Markus Anfang during training.
Markus Anfang has a clear idea of how he wants to play (Photo: nordphoto).

The head coach on the game: Saturday’s game is the first competitive outing in charge of Werder Bremen for new head coach Markus Anfang. After a positive pre-season, the focus now turns to league action. “We wanted to try all the players in pre-season, everyone should get to know the system and I believe that we will see some of what we have worked out on the pitch tomorrow.” Hannover's new coach Jan Zimmermann will also be coaching his side in a competitive match for the first time. It will also be Zimmerman's first game in charge in a professional league. "We're coming up against a team that has a lot of quality in attack and some very interesting players," said Anfang. However, Anfang insists that regardless of the opponent, it is a matter of implementing your own plan: "We need a certain level of consistency throughout the whole season, because we have to be constantly picking up points. Only with a clear structure, passion, resilience, will and a lot of mentality, can we survive in the second division."

The last meeting: Both teams last faced off in the second round of the DFB-Pokal last season. On 23rd December 2020, Werder dominated from kick off and scored a quick double just after half an hour played. Theodor Gebre Selassie converted from a Ludwig Augustinsson cross (30’), and then Josh Sargent doubled SVW’s lead two minutes later. Despite Hannover going for it in the second half, the visitors added a third through Manuel Mbom from a Tahith Chong assist (60’).

 

Keep up a strong home record against Hannover

Lars Lukas Mai against Feyenoord.
Lars Lukas Mai also played under Markus Anfang last season (Photo: nordphoto).

Hannover stats: Hannover finished 13th in the 2. Bundesliga last season with 42 points. In pre-season, they played six games, winning once, drawing twice and losing the other three matches. Their last fixture saw them gain a 4-4 draw against Bundesliga side Hertha, however. Hannover’s record at Werder in professional football is far from strong, having only won one of their 35 away games to SVW (D9, L25). Their ongoing wait of 15 games for a win in Bremen is their longest away to any side, while Werder aren’t on a longer unbeaten run at home to any other team.

Four from seven: Werder enjoyed a successful pre-season, winning four of their seven matches. SVW’s only defeat was a 2-1 loss away to Feyenoord. “Pre-season is one thing, but the league starts tomorrow and that’s a different kettle of fish. It doesn’t matter if we’re favourites or not, if we want the points, we’ll need to give 100%,” commented Anfang. This is Werder’s first second-tier game since 30th May 1981 – back then, SVW won 3-2 at Fortuna Köln in the 2. Liga Nord, when there were still two regional second divisions in Germany.

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