Werder Bremen vs. Union Berlin preview: Die Eisernen look to end losing streak
Union, who've lost their last nine straight games, travel to Bremen on Matchday 9 where both teams hope to climb their way out from the bottom of the Bundesliga table.
| Urs Fischer. | Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Werder Bremen
It hasn’t been the start to the season that Bremen fans envisioned, as they sit in 14th place with three losses in a row. It’s unclear how much longer Ole Werner will be given if victories don’t start coming soon.
Rafael Borre has interestingly started on the bench these last two games as Werner has preferred Justin Njinmah and Dawid Kownacki to pair with Marvin Ducksch up front. Amos Pieper should return to a defense who are giving up 2.3 goals per game thus far.
This week, Werner mentioned, "We're preparing for the clash to the best of our ability. Both teams are aware of their current position and are unsatisfied with the points they've collected so far, but we will be focusing on ourselves."
Team News
Niklas Stark, Naby Keïta, Jiri Pavlenka, and Christian Groß are out. Ducksch and Pieper are expected to play, while Michael Zetterer will start in goal for a second straight week.
Union Berlin
The capital club are in a major slump, having lost their last nine competitive games. Despite having only one shot on target all game, Napoli still defeated Union 1-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday to continue this unfortunate streak.
Die Eisernen are also struggling with off the pitch issues with reports mentioning a rift between veteran Leonardo Bonucci and the club over playing time issues. There was even an incident with Chelsea loanee David Fofana, but long-serving manager Urs Fischer's job status won't come into question any time soon.
Still, Union desperately need to start picking up points quickly or else a shocking relegation scrap awaits.
Former Union Sporting Director Christian Beeck told kicker, “Overall, the team is not so balanced. Especially towards the end of the transfer period, rather unusual transfers have been made.”
Team News
Josip Juranovic, Danilho Doekhi, and Andras Schäfer are out with injuries. Fofana will begin to serve a two-game suspension after refusing to shake Fischer’s hand following their midweek defeat.