Werder Bremen vs Wolfsburg preview: Looking ahead to the W Derby | OneFootball

Werder Bremen

Werder Bremen hit rock bottom this week.

They had a momentous DFB Pokal quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday night, where they travelled to 3rd-division side Arminia Bielefeld. They went into the contest as heavy favorites, and there was a real pressure to advance in the competition.

Bremen couldn’t handle it, and they laid an egg. Coming out the blocks slow, they went down 2-0 before the break thanks to some woeful play on both ends of the field. While they changed things in the second half, and even pulled a goal back, it was too little too late.

They had been knocked out of the cup by a team two leagues below them, and it’s what Werder deserved. Things have been a mess for nearly the entire calendar year. They can’t defend while captain Marco Friedl has been out with injury, and they’re toothless going forward even with new man Andre Silva.

Just when it looked like things couldn’t get worse, they did. Starman Romano Schmid is now injured, and the same is true about frontman Marvin Ducksch. The Green-Whites were struggling already, so supporters can only imagine what’ll happen now.

However, maybe this is what the club needed. Maybe they needed to reach the deepest and darkest depths to realize that something has to change. It could be the players in the lineup, or the formation, or the game plan in general.

Manager Ole Werner needs to find a spark, and find it soon. His team are slipping further and further away from European football, and the league is all they have left after DFB Pokal disappointment. It’s one of the toughest tests of his tenure, but pressure makes diamonds at the end of the day.

On the other hand, Bremen could just as easily lose once again. Knowing how things have gone this year, you couldn’t blame anyone for expecting exactly that.

Team newsWerder will likely be without all three of the aforementioned Friedl, Ducksch, and Schmid, while Milos Veljkovic and Keke Topp are questionable as well.

Wolfsburg

Wolfsburg were also knocked out of the Pokal during the week, but life’s still looking much better for them than their opposition.

They were handed a brutal tie, going on the road to take on RB Leipzig. Die Wölfe put up a good fight, but they were ultimately beaten thanks to a 69th minute penalty from Benjamin Sesko. A disappointing end to the run, sure, but far from heartbreaking.

In terms of the league, things are a bit weirder. Wolfsburg won their first two games back from the break, then tied four out of their next five, with another victory in that time. Those results see them right in the middle of the European battle. They’re currently in 8th, five points off the top four and two points off 7th place.

The Wolves are a real threat going forward, averaging an impressive two goals a game. Their key man? Mohamed Amoura, a diminutive 24-year-old from Algeria. He has 16 goal contributions to his name this campaign, and he’s developed into quite the player, combining killer speed and lethal finishing into an exceptional package.

Knowing how good Wolfsburg are going forward, combined with Bremen’s issues defensively, then this could be a real dream day at the office. However, this is also a potential trap game. Die Weißgrünen aren’t the most consistent outfit, and they’ve laid a few eggs during the season.

If they aren’t on their toes, they could get caught very easily.

Team news

Wolfsburg are going through an injury crisis at the moment. They’ll be without several names, which include Bartosz Bialek, Kamil Grabara, Kevin Paredes, Lovro Majer, Lukas Nmecha, Maximilian Arnold, Niklas Klinger, and Rogério.