Werder Bremen
The pressure is starting to build on Werder Bremen and if things don’t go well this weekend, things could get dire again.
Last week was a great opportunity for Bremen to put some real space between themselves and the prospect of relegation, but they failed to take advantage of it. They traveled to Cologne but got into an early hole when the home team converted a penalty in the seventh minute.
advertise
Things got worse 15 minutes later when Werder lost captain Marco Friedel to a straight red card. It was a harsh call as defenders fell down more times than they tackled opposing players, but he was the last man standing. The deficit doubled after the hour mark and although Romano Schmid pulled a goal back from the penalty spot of his own, it was ultimately not enough.
Performance is difficult to analyze. Sure, the Green and White weren’t at their best, but their performance wasn’t too bad either. They made some mistakes early on that proved to really hurt them. However, in the longer phases they moved the ball well and defended as a unit, and if something was a little different they could easily have gotten at least a point out of the game.
Werder Bremen are now in a tricky situation. Fortunately, they are not in any of the relegation zones and are seven points ahead of 17th-placed Wolfsburg with a few games remaining. However, the gap between them and 16th place is even closer, with only 3 points.
There may not be a gap at all on Friday night. Neighbors St. Pauli are currently in the relegation play-off position and will face the aforementioned Cologne in their first matchday match at the Miller Gate. A win there wouldn’t put them ahead of Werder due to goal difference, but it would set the stage for a tense final period.
advertise
Then again, Die Werderaner’s focus will be on taking care of his own business. While this is already a must-win game in terms of the league standings, it will also be a must-win game for the pride of the club. They lost the reverse fixture in Hamburg, a defeat that was particularly frustrating considering how things unfolded, first leading 1-0 and then conceding the winning goal relatively late on.
Losing away at Nordby is one thing, but losing at home would be a heavy blow for Werder Bremen.
Team News
The green and white are still without a number of injured players such as Mitchell Weiser, Julian Maritini, Keke Top and Karl Hein, while Marco Friedel is suspended. A number of others are also in doubt, with the status of Maximilian Wober, Jens Sturge and Jovan Milosevic still up in the air.
advertise
Predicted lineup
Backhaus, Agu, Pieper, Koulibaly, Deman, Puertas, Linn, Stiger, Schmid, Milosevic, Mbangula
Hamburger
A month ago, when Hamburg beat Wolfsburg away from home, it looked like they were actually safe. However, recent results have kept them alive.
They have failed to win in their past four games. They drew at home to Cologne and Augsburg but lost away to European rivals Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart. While none of those scores are terrible, the lack of points prevents them from officially avoiding the relegation zone.
Rotson’s side go into this game three points clear of their bitter rivals and have a better goal difference. This leaves them six points clear of the relegation play-offs. With five games left, that should be too big a safety net to not mess things up, but you never know what could happen in the Bundesliga.
advertise
A few more losses here, and some wins against teams ranked below them, and Hamburg could easily be primed for a tense final few weeks. If they want to avoid this, they can get a win here on derby day. This would be especially sweet as it would mean two wins for Nordby this season.
One of their big stories this weekend will be the health of star guard Luka Vuskovic. The Tottenham Hotspur loanee missed the team’s final game with a knee injury and is yet to fully recover. This leads to a difficult situation.
Hamburg don’t necessarily need a win this time around, and it might be a wise decision to keep him out for an extra week so he can get back to full fitness. However, he will likely be desperate to play in the derby and management will want him involved. Then again, that might not be their decision.
His transfer value has soared, and Vuskovic is almost certain to leave Tottenham Hotspur for a huge transfer fee in the summer. Would Tottenham want their star asset to face such a risk? This could cost them a huge amount of money? They may make a decision and ask the centre-backs to stay on the sidelines.
advertise
Regardless of whether he ends up playing or not, HSV will still be doing everything they can to stop their noisy neighbors again this campaign.
Team news
As well as Vuskovic, Hamburg are also likely to be missing the services of Albert Sambi Lokonga, Jean-Luc Dompé, Bakery Jatta, Alexander Røssing and Yussuf Poulsen.
Predicted lineup
Fernandez, Capaldo, Torunariga, Vuskovic, Miklensis, Elfadli, Lember, Balde, Vieira, Konigsdorf, Glatzel
