Werder Bremen
They hit rock bottom, but Werder Bremen appear to have finally turned things around.
A few weeks ago, they ended a long winless run with a 2-0 home win over bottom-placed Heidenheim. Not only was it a huge win, the performance was impressive. Although the opponent is not the strongest, Bremen is obviously the better side.
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The three points lifted them from the bottom two. Werder’s next test is an even tougher one as they travel to Union Berlin where they fell early on penalties and it looked like a long day at the office was ahead. However, everything changed minutes later when the home side went down with a man.
The Green and White immediately took control of the proceedings and never really let go. They took the lead after the half-hour mark with two goals from corners, and after the break they suppressed Union by dominating possession. Marco Gruhl doubled the advantage in the 66th minute before youngster Patrice Kovic equalized in stoppage time.
In the space of two games, Werder Bremen are out of trouble. Of course, they are far from safe, just one point away from the relegation play-offs. The good news is they have three teams behind them and they’re also five points ahead of the bottom two teams.
The club doesn’t want to take any risks, which is why there is still pressure to get another win. Werder will hope they have a chance in a battle for survival against another team, especially one that has to play in Europe this week.
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Winning here won’t guarantee safety, but it will go a long way toward avoiding a catastrophic decline. Bremen cannot allow their recent performances to become arrogant, though. If they go into the game thinking they can play their game and win without a fight, then they will have to pay the price against a tough Mainz side.
Die Werderaner had the talent and confidence to keep the good times rolling, especially in front of a passionate Weserstadion. Hey, they’re just four points behind arch-rivals Hamburg and nine points shy of a potential European spot.
That’s something they can worry about once they’re out of danger of relegation, though.
Team News
Bremen’s playing report is the same as last week, with Mitchell Weise, Felix Agu, Maximilian Wober, Amos Pieper, Karim Koulibaly, Victor Boniface, Samuel Mbangula and Jovan Milosevic all missing this game.
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Predicted lineup
Backhouse, Sugawara, Stark, Friedel, Deman, Puertas, Linn, Stage, Gruhl, Nginma, Schmid
mainz
It’s been an interesting few months for Mainz.
They took off in January, winning three straight games. They were then drawn by Borussia Dortmund. Since then, Team 05 has played four games and drawn every game.
They played Mainz at home, Leverkusen away, and Stuttgart, sharing the spoils each time. To be fair, it wasn’t a bad result as two of the games were against European teams.
Speaking of Europe, that’s the kind of competition Die Karnevalsverein is involved in this week. Not only do they have to play on Thursday, they also have to travel to the Czech Republic to face Sigma Olomouc in the knockout stages of the UEFA Conference League. It was a tight and tense game, with neither side achieving what they expected. It was no surprise to see the game end 0-0.
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However, this is not a bad result. A draw in two away games is already good, and now all Mainz has to do is take care of things at home next week. Before that, though, they need to travel to Bremen.
Despite how well they played, they still didn’t avoid relegation. Technically, they are tied for the relegation play-off places, ahead of St. Pauli only on goal difference. The good news is they already lost this weekend, so Team 05 has a chance to pull away in that game.
Mainz were missing some key players, more on that later, but the team spirit was still there. They are difficult to beat and they will catch any mistakes their opponents make. In a bottom-placed game like this, that’s absolutely crucial.
If the Carnival Club wins, there will be a party downtown on Sunday night.
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Team News
Nadeem Amiri is Mainz’s biggest injury absence, but they are also without the likes of Stefan Bell, Robin Zentner, Andreas Hansch-Olsen, Maxim Dahl, Anthony Kac, Benedict Hollebach and Silas.
Predicted lineup
Butts, DaCosta, Bosh, Cole, Widmer, Nebel, Sano, Lee, Mwin, Titz, Becker