“Looking forward to the challenge”

VfB travel to Werder Bremen on Sunday (kick-off 15:30 CEST) on the back of five wins in their last six games. “They’re not easy to close down, they attack with two strikers and have a goalkeeper who gets involved in the play,” warned head coach Sebastian Hoeneß. “They’re tough to play against and can always generate a certain energy at their own stadium.”

Bremen’s performances in recent weeks have been better than the results suggest, added Hoeneß. In order to claim a tenth away win of the campaign in Bremen, his team will need to pose the hosts similar problems to those they faced in the reverse fixture at the beginning of December. “We want to take control of the ball and the game, generate a goal threat and be good in our defensive cover, and for that we need another top performance.”

“A lot of fun in training”

“We’ve had a lot of fun in training this week,” continued the VfB boss. “You can see the quality and the will to win, and we’re looking forward to the challenge in Bremen. We have another exciting job to do and we want to see it through.”

It’s still uncertain whether goalkeeper Alexander Nübel (muscular problems) will be available. “He’s expected to return to full training on Friday and be in contention for the squad,” revealed Hoeneß. “I was very pleased with Fabi Bredlow’s display against Frankfurt. He played his part in the 3-0 win.”

Another player who could be back in the squad after a longer lay-off is Anthony Rouault, who has already joined in with parts of team training following his jaw operation. “He’s made good use of the time for himself and is very professional – he works like a machine,” added Hoeneß on the welcome return of the defender.

Dan-Axel Zagadou, Nikolas Nartey, Li Egloff and Josha Vagnoman remain sidelined by injury, while Mo Dahoud has been suffering with a cold and has yet to train this week.