Werder Bremen vs. Mainz 05 preview: Two teams desperate for victory
Two sides yet to win in the Bundesliga will go head-to-head on Saturday when Werder Bremen play host to Mainz 05.
Werder Bremen
Bremen will be desperate to claim a positive result this weekend after experiencing a poor start to the 2023-24 season. The campaign began with a disappointing defeat to Viktoria Köln in the DFB-Pokal, before Ole Werner’s side were thrashed 4-0 by Bayern Munich in their league opener.
Bremen looked set to claim a point from last weekend’s away meeting with Freiburg, but they were ultimately left empty-handed after their former player Maximilian Philipp scored a 96th-minute winner to snatch all three points.
Die Werderaner are one of four teams yet to pick up a point in the Bundesliga this season, and they have failed to claim a league victory since beating Hertha BSC 4-2 in April.
They will be hoping to spark an upturn in fortunes this weekend, but if they are to record a positive result, they will have to do it without Niclas Füllkrug, who joined Borussia Dortmund in a transfer worth €15m on Thursday.
Team News
The hosts are still without Felix Agu and Naby Keita, who are sidelined with knee and groin injuries respectively.
Mainz 05
Mainz have only picked up one point from their opening two games against tricky opposition. After being thrashed 4-1 by Union Berlin in their first Bundesliga match of the season, Mainz were just minutes away from bouncing back with a victory in their home meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt. Bo Svensson’s side led for the majority of the contest after Lee Jae-sung netted in the 25th minute, but a stoppage-time equaliser from Omar Marmoush ensured Mainz had to settle for a share of the spoils.
Including last season, Mainz have now gone seven league games without a win (D2, L5). Incidentally, their most recent victory in the Bundesliga took place on April 22 when Mainz pulled off a memorable 3-1 victory against Bayern.
While their recent form may suggest that claiming all three points could prove difficult, die Nullfünfer have enjoyed success in their last two visits to the Weserstadion. They claimed a narrow 1-0 win in April 2021, before running out 2-0 winners in October 2022.
Team News
Jonathan Burkardt and Maxim Leitsch are both ruled out with knee problems, while Ludovic Ajorque and Silvan Widmer are also in the treatment room.