Hamburg vs Werder Bremen preview: The Nordderby returns

Hamburg

This past week has seen a mighty high and a bitter low for Hamburg.

The weekend was massive for them, in a good way. They hosted a surging Stuttgart side, while they themselves were in a bad run of form. Many wouldn’t have expected HSV to get a result, but things were looking good since it was 1-1 late on.

However, it went bad for the home side when Alexander Røssing was sent off with about 10 minutes to go. They were in survival mode, doing everything to hold on to the point. Then, in a shocking twist of fate, Hamburg were the ones to find a winner when they expertly countered an awful Stuttgart set-piece routine.

It was a huge goal in their season. Die Rothosen had been slipping closer and closer to the relegation zone, but that victory put four points between them and the bottom three. 

That momentum did not last too long, though. Hamburg had another home game, this time in the round of 16 of the DFB Pokal against 2. Bundesliga outfit Holstein Kiel. It was a classic tight cup affair, and at full-time the scores were level at 0-0. 

Bakery Jatta thought he had grabbed the winner to start the second extra-time period, but a wonderful free-kick from the opposition in stoppage time sent the tie into penalty kicks. HSV fell apart at the end, missing their last two kicks which led to their elimination.

Hamburg is back to square one, but they have the perfect chance to kickstart their campaign this weekend. Up against their bitter rivals, and they’ll have a point to prove as they’re the new boys looking to recement themselves as a top-flight side, and claim the north once again.

If the red shorts play like they did against Stuttgart, then they’ll have a good chance of doing so. Then again, if they play like they did against Kiel, then they are in for a long afternoon.

Team news

Hamburg are missing a few names, as Warmed Omari, Alexander Røssing, and Robert Glatzel are unavailable for selection.

Predicted lineups

Fernandes, Capaldo, Vuskovic, Torunarigha, Mikelbrencis, Lokonga, Remberg, Muheim, Philippe, Poulsen, Viera

Werder Bremen

Bremen did not have a midweek contest to worry about, so they will have some extra rest compared to the opposition. 

Their last game was a bittersweet one. Werder played well early on at home to FC Köln, and they deservedly opened the scoring through Marco Friedl in the 22nd minute. However, as the contest went on, their performance got worse and worse.

It looked like Bremen were going to hold on and secure the win, but then disaster struck in stoppage time. Young phenom Said El Mala cut inside and drilled a low shot that was likely to be saved. However, Niklas Stark failed to block it properly, instead having the ball deflect past him and into the back of the net.

The goal sank the environment at the Weserstadion. The Green-Whites had seemingly done enough to get the clean sheet and the win, and they had been solid defensively. Then again, they really faltered in the final third over the course of the afternoon.

Bremen are getting better in terms of learning Horst Steffen’s system, knowing where to move with and without the ball. They keep killing themselves when it comes to making the final ball, though. The players on the pitch aren’t good enough technically, and you can’t win games if you don’t make the most of your openings.

This match is Die Werderaner’s opportunity to finally put it all together. They’re the more talented team on paper, and if they can play at their best then they’ll put on a real show on the biggest day. However, failing to put opportunities away will likely cost them like it did last weekend.

Get up, or get out of the way.

Team news

Bremen are without a number of defenders, like Mitchell Weiser, Felix Agu, Maximilian Wöber, and Niklas Stark, while Samuel Mbangula, Jens Stage, Leonardo Bittencourt, and Skelly Alvero are doubts for the contest.

Predicted lineups

Backhaus, Sugawara, Pieper, Friedl, Schmidt, Lynen, Stage, Grüll, Schmid, Mbangula, Njinmah