Werder Bremen will be looking to bounce back to winning ways in the Bundesliga when they take on Holstein Kiel at Weserstadion on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts suffered a 4-1 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend, while the visitors picked up their first three-point haul at home against Heidenheim.
Match preview
© Imago
Werder Bremen have made a mixed start to the season and will enter gameweek 10 with 12 points, including a record of three wins, three draws and three losses after the first nine games of the campaign.
Following two impressive performances, beating Wolfsburg 4-2 and holding Bayer Leverkusen to a 2-2 draw, the River Islanders were completely blown away by Monchengladbach last week, when they conceded three goals in the first half and ended the match with 10 men.
Ole Werner's side will now return to Weserstadion, but their form at home this season has been extremely poor, as they have earned only two of their 12-point tally at this venue, marking the first time the side has failed to win any of their first four home games since the 2017-18 season.
Additionally, the Green and Whites are one of only two teams in the top flight - along with St. Pauli - that have not taken the lead in any of their home games this season, and the two goals they have scored is the second-lowest tally in the entire division.
Notably, Werder Bremen were the only side to fail to win a single game against the two newly promoted teams in the Bundesliga last season, and they are now winless in their last five games in total against top-flight newcomers (W0 D1 L4).
© Imago
Meanwhile, after two months in their first season in the Bundesliga, Holstein Kiel finally notched up their first victory in the big time, with Patrick Erras scoring the only goal in their 1-0 win over Heidenheim last week.
Prior to that victory, the Storks had earned just two points from their first eight top-flight matches, both coming by way of 2-2 draws against Bochum in September and Bayer Leverkusen ahead of the October international break.
Undoubtedly, the major issue for Marcel Rapp's side this season has been their defensive frailty, as they have already shipped 23 goals in just nine league games, which is the second-most in the division behind basement club Bochum (29).
While the hosts are the clear favourites heading into this contest, the Storks are the side with the better record in this fixture, having won both their matches against this opponent in 2. Bundesliga in the 2021-22 season.
Team News
© Imago
Werder Bremen have two players out for this match due to suspension, including Mitchell Weiser, who was sent off in their defeat to Borussia M'gladbach, and former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita.
Abdenego Nankishi was left out of the squad for the last match due to a knock and is likely to miss this one as well. He will be joined on the sidelines this week by fellow injury absentees Leon Opitz (knock) and Marco Grull (hamstring).
Holstein Kiel are expected to be without five first-team players for this match, starting with long-term absentee Colin Kleine-Bekel, who is likely to miss a large chunk of the season due to a cruciate ligament injury.
Carl Johansson sustained a knee injury in the side's DFB-Pokal defeat against Cologne and will only return to action in mid-December, while Alexander Bernhardsson and Andu Kelati are sidelined until after the upcoming international break.
Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:
Zetterer; Malatini, Friedl, Pieper; Agu, Bittencourt, Lynen, Kohn; Schmid, Njinmah; Ducksch
Holstein Kiel possible starting lineup:
Weiner; Ivezic, Erras, Geschwill; Becker, Remberg, Knudsen, Gigovic, Puchacz; Skrzybski, Harres
We say: Werder Bremen 2-1 Holstein Kiel
While Werder Bremen have failed to win any of their first four home games this season, it is worth noting that all of those matches were against top-six opponents, including Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Freiburg and Bayer Leverkusen.
With this being the hosts' first home game against a team below them in the league standings, and given their opponents' poor away record, we feel the River Islanders will be able to secure their first win of the season at Weserstadion in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
