Werder Bremen will be aiming to avoid a third successive defeat when they host Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Augsburg, meanwhile, have put together an impressive unbeaten run of six matches.
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Werder Bremen, on the other hand, are continuing to struggle to put together positive results after being beaten 2-0 by high-flying Stuttgart last weekend. Ole Werner's side were sunk by strikes by in-form strikers Deniz Undav and Serhou Guirassy either side of half time at MHPArena.
Unlike in their previous defeat to league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, Die Werderaner did at least carry some attacking threat against Stuttgart, as they managed to force opposition goalkeeper Alexander Nubel into making three saves across the course of the encounter. But Stuttgart's 10th league victory of the season never felt in any real doubt.
Considering that Werder Bremen finished ahead of Stuttgart last season, the fact that they now find themselves 10 places and 19 points behind them does not reflect particularly well on Werner and his players. Dating back to early March, Werner's side have won just four of 25 league matches, falling to defeat on 16 occasions during that run.
Put simply, that is relegation form across a big sample size, meaning that Werner will feel under significant pressure to quickly improve his team's results ahead of the upcoming winter break. With only two points separating themselves and the bottom three, they will not want to spend the Christmas period within those positions, ramping up the importance of claiming a positive result at Weserstadion on Saturday.
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However, Augsburg are unlikely to make life easy for their opponents having won three and drawn three of their last six matches, climbing into the top half of the table in the process.
Goals from Frederik Jensen and Iago proved enough to defeat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 on Sunday, with Jess Thorup's side surviving a late scare after goalkeeper Finn Dahmen's own goal in the 78th minute gave the visitors hope of snatching a point. As has been the case in the majority of Thorup's matches in charge since he took over as manager during the summer, Fuggerstadter were content to soak up possession and look to hit their opponents on the break.
Clearly, this tactic is beginning to work to good effect given Augsburg's excellent form of late. Having failed to finish higher than 12th in any of the last eight seasons - breaking the 40-point barrier on just one of those occasions - their fanbase may be starting to dream of making a real impact on this Bundesliga season, as opposed to treading water towards the bottom of the table as has been the case in recent years.
With difficult matches against Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart set to round off their calendar year, Thorup will sense a major opportunity to inflict more misery on their forthcoming opponents in Bremen this weekend, and continue his side's own unbeaten run in the process.
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Werder Bremen could be without their influential defender Amos Pieper until early April due to a broken ankle, while Nicolai Rapp and Leon Opitz are both sidelined. Jiri Pavlenka missed the trip to Stuttgart due to illness, but Michael Zetterer has been preferred between the posts in recent weeks in any case.
Former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita returned to the matchday squad against Stuttgart after recovering from a thigh issue, but he is unlikely to be risked from the outset against Augsburg given his extensive injury history. Niklas Stark and Olivier Deman offer options should Werner look to strengthen his defensive unit.
Augsburg, meanwhile, will travel without Irvin Cardona, David Colina, Arne Maier, Frederik Winther and Raphael Framberger due to injury. Former West Ham United defender Reece Oxford remains unavailable due to long COVID, but Robert Gumny should be able to shake off illness after missing his side's win against Frankfurt.
Having produced an excellent result and solid performance against the 2022 Europa League winners, though, Thorup is unlikely to make any changes to a winning side. That would mean Ruben Vargas only being used from the bench once again, with natural full-back Iago continuing in a more advanced position after scoring during that victory.
Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:
Zetterer; Veljkovic, Stark, Friedl; Weiser, Schmid, Stage, Bittencourt, Deman; Borre, Ducksch
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Dahmen; Mbabu, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai, Pedersen; Rexhbecaj, Dorsch; Jensen, Demirovic, Iago; Tietz
We say: Werder Bremen 1-1 Augsburg
Werder Bremen will be desperate to avoid another defeat, otherwise they will be left vulnerable to falling inside the bottom three positions after enduring a poor run of form. Augsburg, on the other hand, require a win to guarantee remaining in the top half of the table.
Thorup's side have drawn 1-1 in their last two away trips, and we can envisage them sharing the spoils once again. This result would likely suit both teams, as it would stop the rot for the host while extending the visitors' unbeaten run.
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Brett Curtis
