Borussia Dortmund will welcome Werder Bremen to Signal Iduna Park for a Friday night Bundesliga clash, hoping to make it five straight league wins.
Borussia Dortmund will look to mark their return from October’s international break with yet another Bundesliga win when they host Werder Bremen at Signal Iduna Park on Friday evening.
Despite the worries of an extended hangover after losing the Bundesliga title to arch-rivals Bayern on the final day of last season, it has been a solid enough start to the season for Borussia Dortmund, who are yet to suffer a defeat after seven Bundesliga matches.
They are only two points off the pace and can go top, at least temporarily, with a victory on Friday. Eden Terzic’s side are currently on a four-match winning run in the Bundesliga and claimed a 4-2 victory over Union Berlin last time out.
Werder Bremen, meanwhile, have endured a tough start to the season as they currently sit in the bottom half of the Bundesliga table. The visitors have picked up only two wins from seven matches so far and are just two points above the relegation zone.
Ole Werner’s troops picked up a 3-2 home defeat to Hoffenheim in their Bundesliga fixture prior to the international break. They twice came from behind to level things up courtesy of Jens Stage’s 90th-minute equaliser, but still went on to concede the winner in added time. They have also been woeful on their travels this season, having lost all three of their away matches so far.
Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen last played against each other back in February, with Dortmund coming out on top with a comfortable 2-0 victory. Ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter.
Team News and Tactics
Borussia Dortmund
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️
Breus in the Bundesliga 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jZrLFlK2JC
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) October 18, 2023
In a big boost for Eden Terzic’s side, left-back Ramy Bensebaini is back available after suspension. Thomas Meunier is nearing a return from a muscle injury, while Mateu Morey is close to a return from a knee injury as well, which means Julien Duranville (thigh) is the only long-term injury absentee.
Making his return from a recent groin injury while away with Austria during the international break, former Bayern Munich midfielder Marcel Sabitzer will make his first appearance for Dortmund since mid-September here, slotting in the engine room alongside Emre Can, with Felix Nmecha dropping to the bench.
Former captain Marco Reus was limited to a substitute role towards the end of last season, which, coupled with his age and contract situation, suggested the end of his time as a regular starter at the club. However, the 34-year-old has become a pivotal force for BVB in recent months and has scored three goals in five appearances for the club this season.
Reus should continue in the No. 10 role, aiming to create a slew of high-quality shot-creating actions for himself and his teammates. Julian Brandt and Donyell Malen pick themselves as the two wide attackers for Dortmund.
Niclas Fullkrug should lead the line for the Black and Yellows against Werder Bremen, despite Sebastien Haller scoring two in two games for Ivory Coast in the October international break. Giovanni Reyna has also enjoyed a promising international break and will now hope to take this momentum back to Dortmund as he tries to break into the starting XI.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Sabitzer, Can; Malen, Reus, Brandt; Fullkrug
Werder Bremen
Werder Bremen will be without the services of former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita due to a hip injury. The Guinea international made his first start for his new club against Hoffenheim last time out. But he was forced off the pitch after only 59 minutes due to yet another injury issue and will not be back until after October.
After missing out on the 3-2 defeat to Hoffenheim prior to the international break due to various injury issues, the duo of Olivier Deman, Niklas Stark, Dudu, and Amos Pieper will make a return to Werner’s squad on Friday night, meaning Ole Werner virtually has a full-strength squad to pick his starting XI from.
Ole Werner on the occasion:
"It will be a standout game for me. 80,000 fans, under the floodlights. I think it's the match we're most excited about. We want to prepare as well as we can in the short amount of time that we have, and deliver a strong performance."#werder #bvbsvw pic.twitter.com/BzuGUIT3ME
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) October 18, 2023
Werner will line Werder Bremen in a 3-5-2 formation, with Jiri Pavlenka manning the goal. Captain Marco Friedl will start in the three-man central defensive unit alongside Milos Veljkovic and Pieper, meaning Christian Gross will switch back into his preferred defensive midfield role alongside Romano Schmid and Jens Stage.
The two wing-backs, Mitchell Weiser and Olivier Deman will be pivotal for the visitors as they will provide the width and creativity from the flanks. Werder Bremen will be looking to capitalise on Dortmund’s defensive problems, and the strike duo of Marvin Ducksch and Rafael Borre will be tasked with troubling the opposition backline with sharp darts in behind.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Pavlenka; Pieper, Veljkovic, Friedl; Weiser, Schmid, Gross, Stage, Deman; Borre, Ducksch
Key Stats
- Borussia Dortmund are undefeated in their last 15 Bundesliga matches.
- Dortmund have won four of the last five meetings against Werder Bremen.
- The visitors have lost three of their last four Bundesliga appearances before October’s international break.
- Werder Bremen have lost six straight league matches on the road, losing their last two away games by a 4-2 scoreline.
- Werder Bremen have scored in each of their last five, while Dortmund have conceded in five of their last six league games.
Player to Watch
Niclas Fullkrug
With Sebastien Haller and Youssoufa Moukoko already in the squad, few eyebrows were raised amongst the fanbase when Dortmund decided to sign another striker, Niclas Fullkrug, last season’s Bundesliga top scorer, in the summer.
Despite the initial doubts, Flulkrug is starting to show why he was signed. He has already taken over as the first-choice striker, and BVB’s attacking play is starting to look a lot better with him in the team.
He was in good form before the international break, scoring in two straight Bundesliga matches, while he scored his ninth goal in just his 11th appearance for Germany as they played out a 2-2 draw against Mexico recently. With that in mind, we back him to find the back of the net against a shoddy Bremen defence.
Prediction
Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Werder Bremen
After suffering an early-season stutter in the 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign, Borussia Dortmund finally look back to their best and are in free-scoring form. Edin Terzic’s side have their sights firmly set on mounting another title charge this time around, and they can take the three points in an entertaining affair at Signal Iduna Park.
While things have been good for the Black and Yellows this season, the one recurring problem seems to be an inability to keep things tight at the back, considering they have kept just one clean sheet in their last six Bundesliga matches.
So, although Werder Bremen have struggled to find their best form so far, they should at least be able to breach the leaky Dortmund backline. The visitors have more than a few defensive worries of their own, which should make this a high-scoring affair.
