Freiburg vs Werder Bremen

Europa-Park Stadion hosts a lopsided Bundesliga clash between high-flying Freiburg and underperforming Werder Bremen.

Freiburg’s 2-0 win at lower-league Oberachern in the opening DFB-Pokal round, followed by a 2-1 win at TSG Hoffenheim in their Bundesliga curtain-raising contest, proved last season’s achievements were no fluke. In addition to dispatching perennial champions Bayern Munich from the DFB-Pokal semi-finals, Christian Streich’s side finished 5th in the Bundesliga, their highest final placing in over a decade. But the impending return to Europa-Park Stadion may not guarantee points, considering ‘Breisgau-Brasilianer’ have alternated between victories (2) and defeats (2) across their last four home league outings. Since each of those four results (wins/losses) saw the winner on the day keep a clean sheet, breaking the deadlock could make all the difference in this fixture.

Despite spending most of their comeback Bundesliga campaign in the lower reaches last term and starting the new season with a dismal 4-0 home loss to Bayern, Werder Bremen won’t roll over at Europa-Park Stadion. Indeed, the visitors have gone unbeaten twice in their last three Bundesliga visits to this venue (W1, D1). Each of those three matches featured under 2.5 goals, highlighting the potential for a low-scoring affair. Against this backdrop, six of Werder’s final seven away league games at the back end of last season saw over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet. But considering they only managed one win in that sequence (D2, L4), manager Ole Werner may prefer a tepid contest.