Werder Bremen vs. Hertha BSC preview: Werder try to avoid four losses in a row
The capital club travel to the Weserstadion in hopes of winning their second league game in a row, while Werder look to bounce back after three straight competitive losses.
Oliver Christensen. |
Werder Bremen
After a wild start to the season, giving supporters heart attacks with last-second goals, Werder haven't scored in their last two league games. Ole Werner's team are hurting with the loss of captain and center-back Marco Friedl, who faces a red-card suspension.
Luckily, Werder have only lost one of their last 15 games against Hertha and have a deadly attacking front two of Niclas Füllkrug and Marvin Ducksch. The newly-promoted side have scored 20 goals in league play thus far, which is tied for 3rd best in the Bundesliga.
Werder have struggled at home this season, while Niklas Stark has a chance of returning to the starting lineup in his first game against Hertha since his summer move.
When asked about Werder's place in the table, Werner responded, "I am able to block that out of my mind and I think the squad does a good job of doing that too. The league is extremely tight at the moment and it changes every match."
Team News
Friedl is suspended, while Jean-Manuel Mbom and Nicolai Rapp are out with injuries. Milos Veljkovic is questionable with a knock.
Hertha BSC
Wilfried Kanga finally scored for Hertha last weekend to barely scrape past lowly Schalke with a win. Sandro Schwarz's side are up to 13th in the table, but need more than just two wins from 11 games to give themselves breathing room from the relegation zone.
Dodi Lukebakio and Chidera Ejuke have impressed with their creativity up front, as Hertha should be given some credit for turning what would have been losses last year into draws this season.
Schwarz commented that, "Werder have a clear plan both with and without the ball, play with good structure and are always threatening in front of goal. They've done very well so far as a promoted side."
Team News
Jessic Ngankam, Kelian Nsona and Marton Dardai have been ruled out. Filip Uremovic is likely to play, but Linus Gechter is a question mark.