Our next opponents: Lots of question marks

Position

Frank Baumann did not mince his words after the final whistle. "Florian remains the coach," said Werder Bremen's sporting managing director shortly after the last-minute defeat in the DFB Cup semi-final against RB Leipzig as he backed up coach Florian Kohfeldt. The 120 minutes of the tie clearly showed the coach is in touch with the players. Kohfeldt's team gave everything last Friday, refusing to give up even after going behind in extra time and they were seconds away from forcing the favourites into a penalty shootout. People interested in Werder are entitled to ask themselves: Why doesn't that happen more often in the league? Werder Bremen have lost their last seven games and are now in the middle of a relegation battle after appearing to be comfortable for large parts of this season. Werder are only one point above the play-off spot; points are desperately needed. "That's what we're focused on," said Clemens Fritz, head of football at Bremen, "we shouldn't be interested in anything else."

Personnel

Werder Bremen do not have a long injury list at the moment but there are a number of question marks going into the game against the Werkself – and that concerns some important players. Injury ruled out the usual central defence pairing of Marco Friedl and former Leverkusen player Ömer Toprak in the Leipzig tie. Friedl had a bruised pelvis and Toprak a problem with his calf. According to Bremen's sporting managing director Baumann, there were hopes that the long-standing Werkself defender could be available to face his former teammates – at least until Thursday. The central defender "will definitely not play," said coach Kohfeldt in relation to Toprak who suffered a setback in his rehab. "It's a blow for us and we don't need to dress it up." With striker Milot Rashica, it remains to be seen whether he will make the game against the Werkself. The Kosovan, who has struggled with a number of injuries this season, missed the game against RB Leipzig due to a groin problem.

And there is more bad news: The appearance of midfielder Jean-Manuel Mbom remains uncertain. The 21-year-old had to be substituted on 73 minutes against Leipzig – according to information from the club due to a strained knee ligament. It remains to be seen if he can play against the Werkself. If Mbom is ruled out then Philipp Bargfrede could be an option in the central midfield. The Werder stalwart left the first team last summer but then signed a contract with the second team – and now is actually part of the senior squad again. He has come off the bench in the last two Werder games.

Performers

Freezing cold weather is forecast at the Wohninvest Weserstadion on Saturday. But that may not necessarily influence the finishing of the two teams. These two Bundesliga clubs have the best conversion rate of clear-cut chances in the Bundesliga. The 54% achieved by the Werkself is only topped by Werder Bremen (59%) in the current campaign. No wonder as the North German side have several proven finishers in their ranks in Josh Sargent, Niclas Füllkrug and Davie Selke, who all lined up against Leipzig. The 34 goals scored by Bremen this season is only bettered by Hertha Berlin of the teams involved in the relegation battle.

ProblemS

Werder strikers rarely find themselves in a position to demonstrate their finishing ability. Bremen do have the best conversion rate of clear-cut chances in the league but the team have created the fourth least of those opportunities. The departure of Davy Klaassen at the start of the season is still having an effect – and the plan for Werder to score on the break has not worked recently as Werder have too often gone behind. The 29 goals conceded in the first half is the third highest in the league. That makes it difficult to score in transition play: Bremen have only scored one goal in counter-attacks over the whole season.

Prediction

It sounds so easy but if Werder are able to reproduce the running and irrepressible determination shown in the cup tie against Leipzig in the last three league games, then the Green and Whites should definitely stay up. The fixture against the Werkself is followed by an incredibly important away game at FC Augsburg who are currently one place above Werder. The last match of the season sees Borussia Mönchengladbach visit Bremen. Werder probably need one win from these last three matches – otherwise there is the threat of the play-offs again as was the case last season. Or, as Clemens Fritz describes it: "A near-death experience we can hopefully avoid."