Bremen vs. Freiburg preview: Can Werder win without Füllkrug?
The club from the Black Forest need more points to secure a spot in Europe, while the hosts are looking for their first league win since February.
Niclas Füllkrug, the Bundesliga’s leading scorer, has a knock and won’t be available on Sunday afternoon. It’s likely that Marvin Ducksch’s new partner up front will be Maximilian Philipp, the Wolfsburg loanee who hasn’t scored this season.
Bremen sit 12th in the league and while they should be free of the relegation battle, they can’t be content with their standing quite yet. Die Werderaner want some revenge against Freiburg following their last matchup where captain Marco Friedl received a controversial red card.
When asked about that game back in October, Ole Werner said, "We didn't really take too much away from the game because of our early red card. There were not many conclusions to draw. Hopefully we'll end the game with eleven players on Sunday."
Team News
Amos Pieper will be in the squad, but Eren Dinkci is questionable. It’s been confirmed that Füllkrug will not play.
SC Freiburg
Freiburg are finally done playing Bayern Munich and will now refocus their attention up north in Bremen. At 5th in the table, the Breisgau club have a great chance of securing more European football, but still must be careful with chasers like Leverkusen closing in.
Philipp Lienhart is back to full fitness once again, as he’ll pair alongside Matthias Ginter in defense. It’s unclear if Christian Streich will go with a back three or four, but Lucas Höler should start up front due to fitness concerns over Michael Gregoritsch.
Streich commented, "It was good that the boys had two days off. That was right. And then it was good that we had a long week. - The team is in very, very good condition physically and mentally."
Team News
Manuel Gulde and Daniel Kofi-Kyereh aren’t available, while Gregoritsch is questionable with ankle issues. It was recently announced that Freiburg will host RB Leipzig in the DFB-Pokal semi-finals on May 2nd.