Werder Bremen will look to continue their push up the Bundesliga table when they face Freiburg at Weserstadion on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts will head into this weekend's encounter in 13th place in the league standings with 20 points after 18 matches, while the visitors are in seventh place with 28 points.
Match preview
© Reuters
After managing just two wins in their first eight league matches this season, Werder Bremen looked as though they were going to struggle to avoid the relegation scrap again this term.
However, since the start of December, the River Islanders have looked like a completely different team and come into this weekend's fixture, having avoided defeat in each of their last five league games.
The most recent of those matches ended in an against-the-odds 1-0 win over Bayern Munich, which was their first victory over the Bavarians in 32 matches and ended the longest winless streak of a club against an opponent in German professional football.
That result also took Ole Werner's side to 20 points, of which nine came in their five games, and also pulled them nine points clear of FC Koln, who are the first side below the dotted line at the halfway point of the campaign.
Despite their underwhelming form over the first half of the season, Werder Bremen have been decent at Weserstadion, taking 14 of a possible 27 points and losing just one of their last five on home soil.
© Reuters
However, the Green and Whites will now prepare to take on a Freiburg side that they have been unable to beat in their last five attempts, including a 1-0 defeat in the reverse fixture back in August.
The Breisgau Brazilians will also come into this match off the back of a win last weekend when they overcame Hoffenheim 3-2 despite being reduced to 10 men in the closing stages of the match.
That result marked Christian Streich's side's fourth win in their last six league games, while their only dropped points during that time came in a loss to Heidenheim and a stalemate at home to Union Berlin.
Freiburg's away record this term has been less impressive, as they have managed to take just 10 points from a possible 27, including just three victories and a draw in nine matches on the road.
Notably, the visitors have kept four clean sheets in their last six league games, which is more than any other team in the top flight, and they are likely to prioritise another shutout here as they try to break into the top six this weekend.
Team News
© Reuters
Werder Bremen have a few absentees to contend with for this match, with Milos Veljkovic (knee) and Leon Opitz (ligament tear) both out for at least another month due to injury.
Amos Pieper is still some way from recovering from a broken ankle and is expected to miss a large chunk of the remainder of the campaign.
Nick Woltemade has been suffering from a knock and is a doubt for this weekend, while Naby Keita is yet to return to the team, with Guinea having reached the round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations.
For Freiburg, centre-back Manuel Gulde will be forced to sit out this weekend's trip to Bremen after being sent off in the closing stages of his side's 3-2 win against Hoffenheim last weekend.
Streich also has a fairly lengthy casualty list, with Philipp Lienhart (groin), Kenneth Schmidt (abdominal), Max Rosenfelder (tendon), Christian Gunter (arm) and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (ACL) all ruled out through injury, while Ritsu Doan is away with Japan at the AFC Asian Cup.
Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:
Zetterer; Stark, Friedl, Jung; Weiser, Schmid, Lynen, Stage, Agu; Njinmah, Woltemande
Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Atubolu; Sildillia, Ginter, Gulde, Makengo; Eggestein; Grifo, Roehl, Sallai; Hoeler, Gregoritsch
We say: Werder Bremen 1-1 Freiburg
Werder Bremen will be brimming with confidence ahead of this match following a historic victory over Bayern Munich last week and having avoided defeat in their last five league games. However, despite their uptick in form, they now face a side that they have not beaten in their last five attempts and are in the midst of the race for a place in Europe next season.
This looks like a very level match on paper, and we feel there will be nothing to split these two at the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
