Borussia Dortmund v Werder Bremen Preview

If Borussia Dortmund is indeed to reach the goal of top three in the Bundesliga, this away match against Werder Bremen is a must win.

With the Bundesliga readying for a triumphant return to action this week, Borussia Dortmund could possibly ease themselves into the thick of things against a club that they have fared well against in the past.

In four of the last five trips to Werder Bremen, Borussia Dortmund has come away victorious and while this will be the first matchup this season that stat is not insignificant. Those victories have also been of the multiple goal margin of victory type meaning Borussia Dortmund don’t struggle to find the net.

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However, the two clubs were trending in the opposite direction in the latter half of the Hinrunde. We all know how poor Borussia Dortmund was in their last few matches conceding early goals and having to struggle their way back into matches. That didn’t continue in the friendly matches, so perhaps the early match problems are behind them. Werder Bremen, who sit in 16th currently found themselves in a good run of form to round out the Hinrunde with a five-match unbeaten stretch including wins over Hertha Berlin and FC Ingolstadt.

With that said, Werder Bremen are ripe for the taking. They currently have the worst defense in the league, shipping 34 goals already. The defending certainly improved during the positive run, but goals were still scored. Given Borussia Dortmund’s powerful attack, even without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, I would suspect this match to have goals flying in on both sides.

That brings me to my next point and that is Werder Bremen also possess a relatively good attack. The boys over at the Yellow Wall Pod put it perfectly in that Werder Bremen are a poor man’s Borussia Dortmund. The primary threats from the Werder Bremen side of things is Serge Gnabry and Max Kruse. Kruse hasn’t gotten it going largely due to his unavailability, playing only 500 or so minutes, but his past with Wolfsburg leads me to believe he could still be dangerous. Gnabry, on the other hand, is another case of a young star coming into his own. To this point in the season, the attacking midfielder has scored seven goals, leading the charge for Werder Bremen.

Next: Borussia Dortmund face selection headache

On the BVB side of things, there is a long list of injuries to be concerned about. Sahin, Subotic, Burki, Rode, Mor, Bender are all out with injury while Aubameyang and Ramos are unavailable. The duo of Sokratis and Ousmane Dembele both trained today so it is likely they will be on the bench at the very least, perhaps in the starting 11.

With a win and other results going their way, BVB could move up into third, but that would require the three teams ahead of them to lose. The match kicks off tomorrow in the early time slot. Enjoy

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