Huge challenge to kick off Bundesliga campaign | OneFootball

In the most recent meeting between the teams, Romano Schmidt sealed a 2-0 win for Werder (Photo: W.DE).

Match preview for the game away at Eintracht Frankfurt

The stage is set in ‘Mainhattan’ as Werder Bremen are set to kick off their 2025/26 Bundesliga season away at Eintracht Frankfurt this Saturday at 15:30 CEST. Against a Champions League side like SGE, the Green-Whites will expect a tough game to kick off the new campaign. Keep reading to find out how Werder plan to approach the fixture after their cup exit in Bielefeld, who will be available for selection, and what head coach Horst Steffen had to say ahead of his first Bundesliga match at the helm.

Team news: Horst Steffen will be unable to call on five first-team players in the game against Eintracht. Recently added to the established injury list of Mitchell Weiser (ACL tear), Jens Stage (began individual training on Friday after a stress reaction in his foot) and Amos Pieper (hip operation) is Max Wöber, after the defender suffered a muscular injury against Bielefeld and has been ruled out for the coming weeks. In addition, Olivier Deman is also out of action after breaking his ankle during Thursday’s training session.

Head coach Horst Steffen on the game: “We are coming up against a robust side, who are extremely physical and will be very well prepared for us. That’s why we have to stick together and ensure we can be flexible, and focus on the outside chance that we’ve got.”

Milot Rashica secured Werder’s last win in Frankfurt with a free-kick in added time (Photo: Nordphoto).

Previous meetings: The Green-Whites will have fond memories of facing Frankfurt after SVW triumphed 2-0 in the most recent meeting between the teams on matchday 28 of last season in April. Their previous victory over the Eagles came a while ago, however, in a 2-1 home win in the 2020/21 season. The intermittent period saw Werder fail to record any wins in five games against Eintracht, drawing two and losing the other three. The last time SVW picked up all three points in the Deutsche-Bank-Park takes us back to 2018, a game decided in added time by a remarkable free-kick goal from Milot Rashica that clinched a 2-1 victory for Werder.

Patchy opening records: Both sides have often struggled in their season openers in recent years. While Frankfurt have only been able to celebrate one win in their last five Bundesliga opening fixtures (2023, 1-0 vs. Darmstadt 98), Werder have gone 12 years without a win to kick off the season. The last opening victory came in a 1-0 win over Eintracht Braunschweig in 2013.