Werder Bremen vs. Borussia Dortmund preview: Sahin targeting another victory
Werder Bremen
Bremen began their campaign with a commanding 3-1 victory over Energie Cottbus in the DFB-Pokal thanks to a Keke Topp hat-trick. Ole Werner’s side were unable to claim another win in their Bundesliga opener, but they did at least take a point from their away meeting with Augsburg. Felix Agu put Bremen in front before Elvis Rexhbeçaj and Samuel Essende grabbed a goal apiece to give Augsburg a slender lead at half time. However, Justin Njinmah came off the bench to net a 58th-minute equaliser, ensuring the spoils were shared.
The draw extended Bremen’s unbeaten league run to six matches, with their most recent Bundesliga defeat taking place against Bayer Leverkusen on April 14. Die Werderaner will be hoping to extend that impressive run in Saturday’s difficult meeting with Dortmund. The hosts are also looking to claim their first competitive home win over Dortmund since recording a 3-2 win in the DFB-Pokal in February 2020.
Team News
Defender Amos Pieper remains sidelined for Sunday’s fixture, having missed the first two competitive games of the season due to a muscle injury.
Borussia Dortmund
Nuri Sahin has made a winning start to his time as Dortmund boss, having seen his side claim back-to-back victories. They cruised to a 4-1 win over Phönix Lübeck in the Pokal, before they took maximum points from their league opener against Eintracht Frankfurt. Substitute Jamie Bynoe-Gittens scored a late brace to fire Dortmund to a 2-0 victory at Signal Iduna Park.
Die Schwarzgelben will now turn their attention to their first away league game of the season. Dortmund have won each of their last three meetings with Bremen, including a 2-1 win in March’s away meeting. In fact, the visitors have won their previous four Bundesliga away matches against Sunday’s opponents.
Dortmund will be looking to extend their impressive scoring run against Bremen, having found the net in each of their last 34 competitive head-to-head meetings. They have not drawn a blank since suffering a 2-0 defeat in March 2008.
Team News
Summer signing Yan Couto has been ruled out with a minor injury, ensuring he will have to wait until after the international break to make his Borussia Dortmund debut. The visitors are also without the services of forward Serhou Guirassy.