Lüneburger SK Hansa vs Werder Bremen DFB Pokal First Round Preview

After a long and eventful summer, SV Werder Bremen are finally set to return to competitive action. As per tradition, the club will begin their campaign in the cup as they take on Lüneburger SK Hansa in the opening round of the DFB Pokal.

Recent recap

It’s a luckier draw than most due to Luneburg’s status as a semi-pro side, but Bremen must still be careful. If you look at their recent cup history, you’ll see they’re very susceptible to an early upset exit.

Werder will also be under genuine pressure going into this contest. Last season was a borderline disaster, and the only thing that saved them was avoiding relegation. Former manager Ole Werner was allowed to leave the summer prior, and then his replacement Horst Steffen failed to last the entire year.

Even though things weren’t too bad to start, an awful run of form saw the team plummet to the bottom third of the league standings, and he was eventually sacked. Daniel Thioune was the man tasked with saving a sinking ship. Eventually he did, even though it didn’t look pretty.

That set the stage for an important summer, and it’s ended up being an eventful one. It could either rocket Bremen back up the table or send them officially into relegation.

They said goodbye to a number of key figures. Goalkeeper Mio Backhaus was the first to go, but then news went kind of quiet. That was until the sudden sale of playmaker Romano Schmid, and now phenom centerback Karim Coulibaly will be heading to France.

Fortunately for supporters Werder have brought in replacements, starting with Karl Hein as the new number 1 after being the backup last campaign. Then a number of unproven yet promising options came in, those being Chuki, Cedric Itten, Dariusz Stalmach, Kenny Quetant, and Oskar Wojcik. It’s unclear how much of an impact they will all make, but if a few of them end up being successes then it’ll be a huge plus for management.

Then the bigger names arrived. The Green-Whites signed Australia's starting goalkeeper Alexander Schalger to be their new second-choice, and then they brought in former Hamburg captain Ludovit Reis on a free transfer. The frontline still needed work, but the club were saved by two former Bremen boys.

Eren Dinkci and Niklas Fullkrug both returned to the Weserstadion on loan, adding real threat to the team’s attack. Dinkci has shone at Heidenheim in the Bundesliga, and everyone knows the impact Fullkrug has made for both club and country. If both stay healthy, they could score for fun.

Team news

However, there are already a number of injury concerns, and that will alter Bremen’s lineup selection for this contest. They are without plenty of usual starters, with Karl Hein, Mitchell Weiser, Felix Agu, Niklas Stark, Oskar Wojcik, Dariusz Stalmach, Eren Dincki and Keke Topp all ruled out.

Fortunately for Thioune and company, they have other options. Schalger can cover in goal, while Marco Friedl and Amos Pieper are the go-to centre-backs anyway. Olivier Deman will slot in at left-back, and reports indicate youngster Mick Schmetgens is in line to cover on the opposite side.

Senne Lynen continues to hold down the fort in the middle of the park, and Jens Stage hasn’t gone anywhere just yet, so he’s still good to start. The questions will be in attack. 

Chuki impressed in preseason, and there’s hope Samuel Mbangula is ready to break out. If they are utilized behind the two new center forwards, Niclas Fullkrug and Cedric Itten, that could be a set-up that delivers chances and goals.

If all goes well, Bremen will coast to a simple victory. If not, though, then supporters will already be worried about the campaign ahead.