Ready to put in the hard yards

Squad update: Ole Werner will have to deal with a number of absentees for the upcoming meeting with Wolfsburg. Mitchell Weiser, Senne Lynen and Jens Stage are all suspended, and Dawid Kownacki (hamstring injury), Niklas Stark (ankle ligament injury) and Justin Njinmah will also miss the clash. When questioned as to why the forward was not involved in team training during the week, Werner admitted: “Justin hasn’t fully recovered from the problems he’s been facing over the past few weeks.”

Ole Werner on the opposition: “Usually, appointing a new head coach provides a team with a new lease of life, which is evident in their performance. As it’s his first game, we don’t know for sure how Wolfsburg will play. The head coach was recently in charge of a team in another league who play a different style of football. Nevertheless, there are obviously still things we can take from that. In the past, we’ve had a good track record when it comes to anticipating what we’ll be up against, because we know in principle how a coach will want his team to play. We also look at the players in their squad and see how they would logically set up. That’s why I’m feeling positive that the boys are well prepared for what’s to come.”

Goals guaranteed on Saturday

Marvin Ducksch celebrating in front of the away stand.

Marvin Ducksch scored a magnificent free kick in the reverse fixture (Photo: W.DE).

Previous meetings: The head-to-head record between SV Werder Bremen and VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga could not be any more even. SVW and the Wolves have each won 20 games, firing home 91 goals apiece. VfL have scored more times against the Green-Whites than they have against any other Bundesliga side. There has been at least one goal in each of the past 24 matchups between the two sides, and the fixture has never ended in a goalless draw when the sides met in Bremen. Earlier this season, Ole Werner’s team secured a 2-2 draw thanks to goals from Marvin Ducksch and Rafael Borré.

Varying fortunes from set-pieces: Only Eintracht Frankfurt (4) have scored fewer goals from set-pieces than VfL Wolfsburg (6) this season. In comparison, SVW have found the back of the net on eight occasions following dead-ball scenarios. Against Union Berlin, Mitchell Weiser scored from Marvin Ducksch’s corner, with Werder’s number 7 hitting home a sensational free-kick against the Wolves earlier this campaign.

Aerial threats: VfL Wolfsburg have had the second-most headed attempts on goal in the Bundesliga this season after Borussia Mönchengladbach. Werder have also found success in the air, having scored ten headers so far this campaign. In the reverse fixture, Borré also scored Werder’s equaliser with his head.