Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich travel to a struggling Werder Bremen side, with both teams coming into this clash with clear objectives.
Werder Bremen still have plenty of work to do before the season finishes. With four games in the campaign, Ole Werner’s men sit with a decent cushion above the relegation zone, with 35 points on board. That leaves them 7 points ahead of Bochum in 16th.
Hence Werner will know one more win will do the trick for Bremen in their quest to retain their top-flight status. However, coming into this tough game, they would have hoped for a better run of form, who are now winless in 7 of their last 8 games in the league.
While they ended a 6 game-winless run against bottom-placed Hertha Berlin, Bremen was brought back to reality by Schalke in the previous matchday. Despite leading the game with 10 minutes to go, the opposition got the win through substitutes Sepp van den Berg and Dominick Drexler. Now, they face the prospect of getting a win against Bayern, against whom they have been winless since 2008.
Bayern Munich ended their four-game winless run in all competition with a hard-worked win over bottom-placed Hertha Berlin. It wasn’t a comfortable win, with the basement club pushing Thomas Tuchel’s men to earn the win.
A 2-0 home win to put us back in the top of the table 💪
Full highlights and post-match reaction to #FCBBSC 📽️
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) May 2, 2023
It took Bayern 69 minutes to break the deadlock through Serge Gnabry. But Kingsley Coman’s strike 10 minutes later put some daylight between the two sides. Tuchel will not rest on past results, particularly not with their history of winning the last 10 Bundesliga titles ahead of the last four games.
Borussia Dortmund trail only by a single point on the table but could not take advantage of Bayern’s recent bad results. The Bavarians hope to repeat the result against Bremen in the reverse fixture and keep up the pressure in the title chase, preferably by collecting some more points.
Team News & Tactics
Werder Bremen
Werner has plenty of problems before hosting Bayern on Saturday, with several injuries disrupting preparations. Chief among those is the possible absence of Bundesliga top scorer Niclas Fullkrug with a calf problem.
work hard 🤝 play hard#werder pic.twitter.com/OHtFDDPHdy
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) May 4, 2023
Bremen have not completely ruled the striker out, but Maximilian Philipp will form a part of the attacking setup if he fails to pass the late fitness test. Felix Agu and Dikeni Salifou are also absent through injuries, while Eren Dinkci has a calf issue.
Werner will retain a back three of Milos Veljkovic, Marco Friedl and Niklas Stark. Christian Gross will sit at the base of midfield, with Leonardo Bittencourt and Jens Stage on either side.
Anthony Jung, who scored against Bayern in the reverse fixture, will start in the left wing-back role, while former Bayern man Mitchell Weiser will start on the right flank. Bremen will go with two up front, with Marvin Ducksch and one of Fullkrug or Philipp in the other position.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2) – Pavlenka; Veljkovic, Friedl, Stark; Weiser, Bittencourt, Gross, Stage, Jung; Ducksch, Fullkrug
Bayern Munich
Tuchel has a host of injury absences on the side and will tinker hard before selecting his starting lineup. Manuel Neuer and Lucas Hernandez remain long-term absentees. Alphonso Davies, Dayot Upamecano and Eric Maxim Chuopo Moting are the other missing personnel.
Final preparations ahead of #SVWFCB ✅#MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/5gj6hkl5KY
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) May 5, 2023
Leon Goretzka remains suspended, which could see Jamal Musiala take his midfield place alongside Joshua Kimmich. Josip Stanisic is also missing with an abductor problem.
Benjamin Pavard could come in central defence alongside Matthijs de Ligt, while Noussair Mazraoui and Joao Cancelo to marshall on as full-backs. Kimmich and Musiala will hold the midfield together, with Tuchel likely to prefer a strong attacking setup ahead.
With Musiala behind in midfield, Thomas Muller could come in the No.10 role and provide the creative spark in this team. Mathys Tel will likely lead the line in Chuopo Moting’s absence, while Leroy Sane and Coman to complete the front three setup from wide areas.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1) – Sommer; Mazraoui, Pavard, De Ligt, Cancelo; Kimmich, Musiala; Sane, Muller, Coman; Tel
Key Stats
- Bayern Munich have won their last 15 away matches against Werder Bremen in all competitions.
- Bayern Munich have won only 3 in their last 8 games across all competitions.
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Werder Bremen’s last 9 games in the Bundesliga.
- Werder Bremen are winless in 7 of their last 8 games.
- Werder Bremen have picked up only 1 point in their last 22 Bundesliga games against Bayern Munich.
Player to Watch
Jamal Musiala
Back on top! 💪🏽 pic.twitter.com/Tcbcoj6exA
— Jamal Musiala (@JamalMusiala) April 30, 2023
The attacking star will play a different role in Tuchel’s system due to the absence of Goretzka. He is now their central midfielder and the young star has taken to the new role with new vigour. Yet, his game has plenty of inconsistencies, and the manager would like to see how he performs here.
Musiala needs to perform strongly between now and the end of the season to showcase his maturity in a different role. Against Bremen, he will find himself in that midfield position alongside Kimmich and will have to understand the game and contribute differently.
Prediction
Werder Bremen 1-3 Bayern Munich
The Bavarians will come into this clash under acute pressure from Dortmund and will give an appropriate response. Tuchel will want his side to showcase ruthless efficiency before the goal, and his players will likely respond.
Bremen are in a comfortable position about relegation, but they will find it hard going into this clash. The Bavarians are clear favourites to collect three points, but they could concede at some stage, preferably when they have a comfortable lead.
