Werder Bremen vs Hamburg preview: The Nordderby returns with a lot on the line | OneFootball

Werder Bremen

The pressure is starting to mount on Werder Bremen, and things could get scary again if this weekend doesn’t go well.

Last week was a big chance for Bremen to put some real space between themselves and the relegation picture, but they weren’t able to take advantage. They went on the road to Köln, and went into an early hole when the hosts converted a penalty kick in the 7th minute.

Things went from bad to worse 15 minutes later when Werder lost captain Marco Friedl following a straight red card. It was a harsh decision since the defender fell more than he tackled the opposing player, but he was the last man. The deficit was doubled past the hour mark, and even though Romano Schmid pulled one back via a spot-kick of his own, it wasn’t enough at the end of the day. 

The performance was a tough one to analyze. The Green-Whites were not at their best, of course, but they didn’t play too poorly. They made a few early mistakes, and those proved to really hurt them. However, for extended stages they moved the ball well and defended as a unit, and if some things went a little different they could’ve easily gotten at least a point from proceedings.

Bremen are now in a tricky spot. Fortunately for them they’re not in any of the relegation places, and they are seven points clear of 17th place Wolfsburg with only a few games to go. The gap between them and 16th is a lot closer, though, with that distance only being three points.

There might not be a gap at all come Friday night. Neighbors St. Pauli currently sit in the relegation-playoff spot, and they will host the aforementioned Köln at the Millerntor-Stadion in the first game of the matchday. A win there wouldn’t put them ahead of Werder thanks to goal differential, but it would set the stage for a tight and tense final stretch.

Then again, Die Werderaner’s focus will be on taking care of their own business. While it’s already a must-win in terms of the league standings, it will also be a must-win game for the club’s pride. They lost the reverse-fixture in Hamburg, and the defeat was especially frustrating given how things went down, blowing a 1-0 lead and then conceding the winner relatively late on.

It’s one thing to lose in the Nordderby on the road, but to lose at home would be a hammer blow for Bremen.

Team news

The Green-Whites are still without a number of injured players, like Mitchell Weiser, Julian Malitini, Keke Topp and Karl Hein, while Marco Friedl is suspended. A few others are also questionable, with the statuses of Maximilian Wöber, Jens Stage, and Jovan Milosevic still up in the air. 

Predicted lineups

Backhaus, Agu, Pieper, Coulibaly, Deman, Puertas, Lynen, Stage, Schmid, Milosevic, Mbangula

Hamburg

When Hamburg defeated Wolfsburg on the road a month ago, it seemed like they had practically secured safety. However, recent results have kept them in the picture.

They’ve failed to win any of their last four. They tied Köln and Augsburg at home, while losing away to European contenders Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart. While none of those scores are horrific, the lack of points has prevented them from officially avoiding the drop zone.

Die Rothosen go into this game three points ahead of their bitter rivals, owning a better goal differential as well. That puts them six clear of the relegation-playoff. With five games to go, that should be too big of a safety net to screw up, but you never quite know in the Bundesliga.

A few more losses here, some wins for the teams below them, and Hamburg could very easily set themselves up for a nervy final few weeks. If they want to avoid all that, they could simply pick up a win here on derby day. It would be especially sweet, since it’d mean victories in both Nordderby fixtures this season. 

A big storyline for them this weekend will be the health of star defender Luka Vušković. The Tottenham loanee missed his team’s last game through a knee injury, and he’s not fully recovered from it. That has led to a tough situation.

Hamburg don’t necessarily need a win on this occasion, and keeping him away for an extra week so he can come back to full fitness is probably the smart decision. However, he will likely be desperate to play in the derby, and management will want him involved. Then again, this might not be their call to make.

His transfer value has skyrocketed, and it’s almost certain that Vušković will leave Tottenham in the summer for a massive transfer fee. Would Spurs want their star asset risked like this, which could cost them an insane amount of money down the line? They might make the decision and ask for the center-back to remain on the sidelines.

Whether or not he ends up featuring, HSV will still give everything they have to shut down their noisy neighbors one more time this campaign.

Team news

Along with Vušković, Hamburg could also be without the services of Albert Sambi Lokonga, Jean-Luc Dompé, Bakery Jatta, Alexander Røssing, and Yussuf Poulsen.

Predicted lineups

Fernandes, Capaldo, Torunarigha, Vušković, Mikelbrencis, Elfadli, Rember, Balde, Viera, Konigsdorffer, Glatzel