Borussia Dortmund vs Werder Bremen Preview: Where to Watch, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News
Borussia Dortmund will be looking to return to winning ways on Saturday when they take on Florian Kohfeldt's Werder Bremen at Signal Iduna Park.
Lucien Favre's men had to settle for a 2-2 draw away at Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday night, with goals from Axel Witsel and Jason Sancho cancelled out by Andre Silva's strike and Thomas Delaney's own goal on matchday five in the Bundesliga.
Dortmund currently sit third in the table on ten points, one point second place and arch rivals Bayern Munich, and two points behind RB Leipzig. Meanwhile, Bremen sit mid-table in tenth position, four points behind Die Schwarzgelben.
Favre will be hoping his side can replicate the 4-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on September 14. A Marco Reus brace and goals from Paco Alcácer and Raphaël Guerreiro ensured the Bundesliga giants claimed maximum points on that occasion.
Where to Watch
When Is Kick Off? | Saturday 28 September |
What Time Is Kick Off? | 17:30 (BST) |
Where Is it Played? | Signal Iduna Park |
TV Channel/Live Stream? | N/A |
Referee? | Deniz Aytekin |
Team News
Mats Hummels is expected to miss the game after suffering a back injury against Frankfurt on Tuesday. The 30-year-old has made seven appearances since returning to the club from Bayern Munich in the summer.
Nico Schulz, another player on the treatment table, has started light training away from the rest of the squad. The 26-year-old will likely miss more time recovering from his torn ankle ligament picked up on international duty. Goalkeepers Eric Oelschlägel and Marvin Hitz also remain sidelined.
Werder Bremen’s season has started with an injury crisis. Defenders Niklas Moisander, Ömer Toprak, Milos Veljkovic, Sebastian Langkamp and Ludwig Augustinsson are all out alongside midfielder Kevin Möhwald and attackers Fin Bartels, Niclas Füllkrug and Yuya Osako.
Milot Rashica should return here, while midfielder Philipp Bargfrede played his first minutes of the season last week as he returned from injury.
Predicted Lineups
Borussia Dortmund | Bürki; Hakimi, Zagadou, Akanji, Guerreiro; Witsel, Weigl; Sancho; Reus, Brandt, Alcácer. |
Werder Bremen | Pavlenka; Gebre Selassie, Groß, Friedl; Lang, Bittencourt, J. Eggestein, M. Eggestein, Klaassen; Goller, Sargent. |
Head to Head Record
Here's some stats for you:
- Dortmund are undefeated in the last four meetings with Werder Bremen, but recorded just one victory in the process, as all of the other three ended in draws after the regular ninety minutes.
- Each of the previous twelve encounters witnessed goals scored at both ends, while 10 of those matches also featured over two goals. Werder Bremen have won just one of their last fourteen visits to Dortmund.
- Favre's men have conceded only one goal in the four competitive games at Signal Iduna Park this season.
Dortmund defeated Werder 2-1 on matchday 15 in December last season, with goals from Alcácer and Marco Reus. Kohfeldt's side did manage to salvage a point from Dortmund towards the end of the campaign following a 2-2 home draw, their goals coming from Kevin Möhwald and Claudio Pizarro.
Recent Form
Dortmund will want to put on a show for their fans, especially on the back of their draw at Frankfurt. It may be early stages of the campaign, but they will look to keep the pressure on Leipzig and Bayern at the top of the table.
Alcácer is in red hot form, not just in the league but also on the continent. He is Europe's most in-form striker for club and country, and netted five times in five appearances so far in the Bundesliga, registering one assist. He will look to add more goals to his current tally this weekend.
Jadon Sancho is another player expected to cause the Werder defence plenty of problems, having scored three goals, also claiming five assists. The 19-year-old netted his first goals for England against Kosovo during the international break earlier in September.
Werder, with a number of players out, and having suffered a heavy defeat last weekend, will feel this game has come to soon. It was evident their injuries played a huge part during their Leipzig encounter, resulting in their stuttering form.
Two narrow victories over Union Berlin away and Augsburg at home previously, have given their fans a glimmer of hope, but ultimately, it will be a very tough encounter for them.
Here's how each team has performed in their last five games:
Borussia Dortmund | Werder Bremen |
Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 Borussia Dortmund (22/9) | Werder Bremen 0-3 RB Leipzig (21/9) |
Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Barcelona (17/9) | Union Berlin 1-2 Werder Bremen (14/9) |
Borussia Dortmund 4-0 Bayer Leverkusen (14/9) | Werder Bremen 3-2 Augsburg (1/9) |
Union Berlin 3-1 Borussia Dortmund (31/8) | 1988 Hoffenheim 3-2 Werder Bremen (24/8) |
1. FC Köln 1-3 Borussia Dortmund (23/8) | Werder Bremen 1-3 Fortuna Düsseldorf (17/8) |
Prediction
Kohfeldt's side will find it difficult to get anything out the game on Saturday. Dortmund are too strong and with Sancho and Alcácer both on top of their game, it is difficult to think how the Werder defence will be able to stop them.
The Dortmund fans will also be expecting their side to come out of the blocks and put on a fine attacking display in front of the Yellow Wall. Favre's side should cruise to victory here, secure all three points and keep pressure on at the top of the Bundesliga table.
