Werder Bremen vs. Hoffenheim preview: Die Kraichgauer to exploit home side's injury problems?
Werder Bremen will be without several defenders when they host Hoffenheim on Saturday evening.
Werder Bremen
On a day to forget for Werder Bremen, the Green and Whites were torn apart by Darmstadt last Sunday, with Die Lilien beating Ole Werner's men 4-2 to claim their first win of the season.
Werder will naturally be fired up to show a different face this time around at the Weserstadion, where they've won two of three games so far this season, with their only home defeat coming against Bayern Munich.
"We are still developing and growing as a team. We struggled to react well to setbacks in two games, but it was a different story when we played at home. We need to be more consistent," said Werder coach Ole Werner at his pre-match press conference.
Sitting in 12th place with six points from six games, Werder face a Hoffenheim team in sixth place with twice as many points. Although he's aware of the quality of the opposition, Werner believes he has found some weaknesses to exploit.
"They are a team with a lot of experience and quality in every position, which is proven by their current position in the table. However, every opponent gives you something to exploit, which is what we want to do this weekend.
Team News
Unfortunately for Werder, Niklas Stark, Amos Pieper and Oliver Deman have all been ruled out, giving Werner a headache at the back. On the positive side for Werder, Naby Keita has declared himself ready to play 90 minutes.
Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim followed a 2-1 loss to Freiburg on the opening day of the season with four straight wins before the streak came to an end last week with a 3-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
The Kraichgau side will be hoping for a similar result to their last visit to the Weserstadion in April, when Pellegrino Matarazzo's side won 2-1.
Although Hoffenheim sit well above Werder in the table, head coach Pellegrino Mataeazzo is not taking the challenge lightly.
"We will definitely not underestimate Bremen. The league is very balanced, there's no favorite for most games. The team that gives more will have the advantage," said Matarazzo.
Team News
Dennis Geiger, Stanley Nsoki, Bamabsé Conté and Marco John remain unavailable, while Andrej Kramaric is a doubt after suffering a bruised thigh in the defeat to Borussia Dortmund. Pavel Kaderabek and Wout Weghorst are both back and fit.