Werder Bremen vs Freiburg

Freiburg’s faltering bid to land a Bundesliga top-four finish takes them to the Weserstadion to take on Werder Bremen.

Werder Bremen pulled off an epic upset last weekend, squeaking past perennial champions Bayern Munich 1-0 in their backyard to make it five Bundesliga matches unbeaten (W2, D3) after back-to-back losses by 2+ goals ‘to nil’ beforehand. However, there’s no room for complacency as Ole Werner’s men have failed to win three times in their last four home league games (D2, L1), barring a 2-0 triumph against bottom-half Augsburg in early December. Moreover, they’ve gone winless in three consecutive top-flight H2Hs on home turf (D2, L1) since a 2-1 victory in April 2019, conceding precisely two goals on two occasions. Flying out of the traps is imperative for Werder, considering their dismal 73% loss ratio in Bundesliga games in which they’ve fallen behind in 2023/24 (W1, D2, L8).

On the other hand, Freiburg kicked things off in 2024 with a dull 0-0 home draw against a downtrodden Union Berlin side but bounced back with a goal-glutted 3-2 win against TSG Hoffenheim last weekend. The visitors’ hopes of capturing a long-overdue top-four finish hang by a thread, as they languish five points adrift fourth-placed RB Leipzig at the start of this round. Playing on the road is unlikely to alleviate pressure on manager Christian Streich, knowing his men have only won 33% of their away league matches this season (W3, D1, L5). But ‘Breisgau-Brasilianer’ have reigned supreme in this match-up, outscoring Werder in their last three top-flight H2Hs, including a narrow 1-0 triumph in the reverse fixture in August 2023.