Werder could finish their 2023/24 campaign occupying eighth position in the table if they can secure all three points on matchday 34. Moreover, if this season’s Bundesliga champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen are able to beat 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final at the end of May, the Green-Whites could qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League. This does, however, also rely on two Bundesliga results going in SVW’s favour – Werder would need to come out on top in their final clash against Bochum, and SC Freiburg would also have to lose to Union Berlin. “Unfortunately, the ball is not in our court,” explained head coach Ole Werner, when questioned about Werder’s chances of making Europe. “Despite that, we’re still determined to win the game and move as high up the table as we possibly can.”
The Green-Whites would have been in better stead in their quest for Europe had they won the recent draws against Gladbach and Leipzig, both of which were certainly possible considering the quality of Werder’s performances in those games. However, Werner urged: “We’re not dwelling on our past results. We want to win Saturday’s game, which will be a completely different challenge to what we’ve faced in the last couple of weeks.” Bochum only need to pick up one point to secure their spot in next season’s Bundesliga, and will also be hoping for a Freiburg victory over Union to help their chances. And so, with the summer break on the horizon, there’s still work to be done in Bremen before the boys can put their feet up.