Position
Werder Bremen have not won in seven Bundesliga matches. Recently, they almost succeeded in getting back to winning ways. But a last-minute goal secured a point for Eintracht Frankfurt when they visited Bremen last weekend, after Werder had twice come back from a goal down and they could have turned the game around at one stage. "The three points were in sight, but unfortunately we didn't take them," said Werder coach Horst Steffen after the 3-3 draw. "If you look at the course of the match, then you have to win the game. Basically, we played well, especially in the second half. But the disappointment after the game is huge and we have to deal with it now. The bottom line is we missed out on two points." Jens Stage, who had scored to level at 2-2, was also downbeat: "This phase is difficult for us at the moment. We have to stick together and keep working. Then the points will come."
Werder's last win was just under three months ago. The 2-1 victory at home to VfL Wolfsburg on 7 November 2025 ended a short autumn winning streak for Bremen. The Steffen team had moved up to eighth place in the table after their third win in five games (with two draws). Werder then dropped down to 13th place after four defeats and three draws. Werder Bremen started the new year with a 3-0 defeat at Borussia Dortmund, but they did put in a decent performance for long stretches of the game, as they did a week later in a 3-3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt. Werder's managing director for sport Clemens Fritz is also combative with regard to the upcoming tasks: "We all know the situation we're in. We haven't clocked up the points we wanted to in recent weeks. Nevertheless, it's important to me for us to look ahead positively. Together we will get out of this situation."
Personnel
The Werder Bremen personnel situation is particularly tight in defence. The two centre-backs Niklas Stark (hip) and Maximilian Wöber (muscular problems) will still not be available on Saturday. Wöber has not featured this season, apart from one appearance in the first round of the DFB Pokal (a 1-0 defeat at Arminia Bielefeld), due to injury. Full-back Felix Agu was able to take part in full training for the first time this week after an injury lay-off of several months, but is not an option for the match against Bayer 04. Former Leverkusen player Mitchell Weiser (torn cruciate ligament) will be absent for even longer. "The situation is very challenging," said managing director of sport Fritz. "We currently have three guys playing and Julian Malatini as back-up behind them." Most recently, youngster Karim Coulibaly, captain Marco Friedl and Amos Pieper were deployed in the back three.
Isaac Schmidt (left), on loan from Leeds United, and Yukinari Sugawara have been the key players in the last three games. The Japanese player, on loan to Werder from Southampton since the end of August 2025, is one of Bremen's best providers with four assists alongside Samuel Mbangula and after Romano Schmid (5). However, Sugawara is also always looking for his own finish.
Senne Lynen and Jens Stage, the team's top scorer to date with six goals, run the show in central midfield for the Green and Whites. In attack, Romano Schmid, strikers Marco Grüll and Justin Njinmah as well as Samuel Mbangula, who was signed from Juventus last summer, are among the regular starters. A few weeks ago, Werder also brought in Jovan Milosevic on loan from VfB Stuttgart. The 20-year-old Serbian scored on his second appearance for Werder in a 3-3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt. However, Victor Boniface, who is on loan from Bayer 04, will continue to miss Saturday's game against his former team-mates due to a knee injury.
