What to watch for in Werder Bremen's next preseason outings | OneFootball

Werder Bremen’s preseason preparations continue this Saturday with a tricky test as they’ll face fellow Bundesliga outfit SC Paderborn in a doubleheader.

While these contests won’t have an official impact on the season in terms of points and the league table, it will go a long way in getting the team ready for the year ahead. The summer has flown by, with this being the penultimate weekend of preseason action.

Things are getting serious for Werder. It’s unclear how ready they are for the campaign, but this weekend might give supporters a real taste of what’s to come. They’ll have their eyes on a few particular storylines.

A potential Mbangula remontada

One of the most disappointing aspects of the previous season was the performances of Samuel Mbangula.

Signed in the summer to loads of hype and fanbase, Bremen shelled out a surprising amount of cash by dropping over 10 million for him. The fee made sense, as the youngster had burst onto the scene for Italian giants Juventus. He seemed set for a bright future.

Mbangula impressed early. He had a goal, an assist, and he won a penalty in his third Bundesliga game, and then scored the winner against St. Pauli shortly after. However, he soon found consistent match time hard to come by. Then manager Horst Steffen was struggling to get the attack going, and his new winger became the fall guy.

Werder’s number 7 faded at the end of the year due to his club’s fight for survival, as they couldn’t afford to risk putting out a flair player like him when their focus was on defensive strength and securing points. In the end they did enough to stay up.

Supporters won’t accept that reasoning this time around, though. Current coach Daniel Thioune cannot get away with simply surviving, the onus will be on rebuilding the side and offering some sort of threat. One of the most important pieces should be their most expensive, Mbangula.

Fans will be hopeful after what happened last week, as the Belgian got a goal against Energie Cottbus. It was well-taken too, slotting home a low shot past the onrushing keeper on the counter. If he can put on another strong showing this Saturday, everyone involved with Bremen will be much more excited for the year ahead.

A battle up top

Werder once again do not have a clear starting striker going into a campaign.

It was one of their biggest issues last season. The team never had a reliable #9, someone who they could start weekly and trust to get goals on a regular basis. Victor Boniface’s loan was a borderline disaster, while Keke Topp proved that he wasn’t ready for this level yet. Marco Grull and Justin Njinmah were wingers forced up the middle, and neither project worked.

The dream was that the Green-Whites would spend big in the summer and bring in a new undisputed main man. Unfortunately for supporters that did not really happen. They did bring in a new striker at least, acquiring Cedric Itten on a free transfer. He featured at the World Cup for Switzerland, and it’s a promising move, but he’s not quite a proven top-flight goalscorer.

His biggest rival for the starting spot will be a Bremen youth product. Salim Musah had a few chances in the lineup last campaign, and was a bright spot at times, scoring his first Bundesliga goal at home against RB Leipzig. His preseason showings have been good too, notching a goal and an assist last weekend.

It’s a toss up when it comes to who will get the nod on opening day of the season. Musah has the edge at the moment since he’s in full fitness and superb form. While he’s younger and less consistent, the promise is there, and the club would love to have an academy product make the jump to the first team.

Then again, Itten is a more reliable commodity. He knows how to score goals, even if it was in the 2. Bundesliga. His experience at the international level will be vital, and he could be one of those players who makes a seamless transition to the first division.

As silly as it sounds, the final decision could be influenced by which forward gets more goals in these games.

Playing from the back

It feels like most teams on the planet are trying to play it out from the back, getting the goalkeeper involved in the buildup. Werder is no different.

Unfortunately for them, there are growing pains when starting this process. That was on show in the Green-Whites' previous game. The opener came via a turnover in their own box, as new number one Karl Hein laid the ball off to a midfielder tracking back. He had no options, though, and the opposition stole possession before dinking the ball into the back of the net.

For this to happen in a friendly is one thing. It’s a little embarrassing, sure, but that’s why you have these games. You need somewhere to learn and develop new skills. However, if this happens in a Bundesliga game, then fans will be close to rioting on the field.

That’s why it’ll be interesting to see how far they’ve come along when these games against Paderborn take place. They’re a fellow top-flight team, and they’ll be much better at pressing than previous outfits. We’re also much closer to the real matches, and if Werder are still struggling to make passes at the back, then they might have to bail on the project.

Everyone understands how nice it is to have a goalkeeper who can play with his feet, but those impressive moments when a press is beaten do not nearly compare to giving up a free goal because you got caught out at the back.

Let’s see how much Thioune believes in this aspect of the game.