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Dortmund logo
Bundesliga | Gameweek 29
Apr 18, 2021 at 2.30pm UK
Signal Iduna Park
Werder Bremen logo

Dortmund
4 - 1
Werder Bremen

Reyna (29'), Braut Haaland (34' pen., 38'), Hummels (87')
Dahoud (48')
FT(HT: 3-1)
Rashica (14')
Friedl (60'), Veljkovic (66'), Gross (77'), Moisander (85')

Preview: Borussia Dortmund vs. Werder Bremen - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Bundesliga clash between Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Borussia Dortmund take on Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Sunday, with the visitors nervously looking over their shoulders at the relegation zone after losing four matches in a row.

The hosts, meanwhile, head into the weekend seven points outside of the Champions League qualification places, which is now their only route into Europe's elite competition next season having lost to Manchester City in the quarter-final of that competition in midweek.


Match preview

Borussia Dortmund's Erling Braut Haaland on April 14, 2021© Reuters

In truth, Edin Terzic's side put up an excellent effort against the English champions elect Man City once again on Wednesday night, with England midfielder Jude Bellingham providing BVB with a 1-0 lead heading into the half-time interval.

Had the match ended that way, Dortmund would have caused a major upset by progressing on away goals after losing the first leg 2-1 away from home.

However, Riyad Mahrez levelled the match on the night from the penalty spot after Emre Can was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the penalty area, before Phil Foden wrapped up a 4-2 aggregate victory with a 75th-minute strike.

Terzic's attention now returns to domestic action, with Dortmund having a DFB-Pokal semi-final against Holstein Kiel at the start of May to look forward to.

However, they are looking like serious underdogs to finish in the top four despite last weekend's thrilling 3-2 win at Stuttgart.

Stuttgart had led at half time via Sasa Kalajdzic's towering header, but Bellingham and Marco Reus both quickly struck after the break to flip the match on its head.

BVB looked set to drop points yet again after Daniel Didavi's 78th-minute equaliser, but 19-year-old Ansgar Knauff's first goal for the club ensured his side remain just about in the race for the top four ahead of Sunday's match against an out of sorts Bremen.

Werder Bremen coach Florian Kohfeldt pictured on February 13, 2021© Reuters

Indeed, having looked assured of safety several weeks ago, Bremen will be concerned of having to repeat last season's relegation playoff after four successive defeats has seen them slip to within four points of that position in the table.

Like Dortmund, they do have a DFB-Pokal semi-final to look forward to, albeit with much reduced hopes of progressing to the final given that they will be facing RB Leipzig, who they lost 4-1 at home to in the league last weekend.

Julian Nagelsmann's side blitzed them in a terrific first-half display, with Dani Olmo capping a fine team move to break the deadlock after 23 minutes.

Target man Alexander Sorloth's quickfire double ensured a comfortable team talk for his manager, with any Bremen hopes via Milot Rashica's converted penalty after the hour mark lasting only two minutes once Marcel Sabitzer had restored his side's three-goal cushion two minutes later.

Florian Kohfeldt will be concerned that his team's performances and results may be dipping at precisely the wrong moment of the season, with the likes of Mainz 05, Hertha Berlin and Arminia Bielefeld all picking up positive results in recent weeks.

However, with the gap that they have to those sides, one or two more wins should prove enough for Bremen to compete in Germany's top flight for a 41st consecutive season.

Kohfeldt will be hoping that they can catch a potentially fatigued and dejected Dortmund cold on Sunday in order to improve their chances of doing exactly that.

Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga form:
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • W

Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • L

Werder Bremen Bundesliga form:
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • L

Werder Bremen form (all competitions):
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • L



Team News

Jadon Sancho in action for Borussia Dortmund on February 2, 2021© Reuters

Jadon Sancho failed to recover from his thigh injury in time to face his former club Man City in either of Dortmund's defeats, so is unlikely to be risked by Terzic in a match which he will feel they should be able to win without the England winger.

Youssoufa Moukoko and Dan-Axel Zagadou have been ruled out for the rest of the season with shin and knee injuries respectively, while Thomas Delaney, Marcel Schmelzer and Axel Witsel are facing a race against time to feature again before the end of the campaign.

Terzic could look to freshen things up ahead of Wednesday's match against Union Berlin during what represents a congested schedule for his side, with the likes of Thorgan Hazard, Julian Brandt and Giovanni Reyna all hoping for recalls to the starting XI.

Bremen's injury list has grown in recent weeks, meanwhile, which is not helping Kohfeldt's cause.

Niclas Fullkrug, who is the club's joint-top goalscorer in the Bundesliga this season despite only starting six matches, is out for the rest of the season with a broken toe.

Omer Toprak and Felix Agu sustained calf and hip issues respectively during the defeat to Leipzig, with Milos Veljkovic and Romano Schmid expected to take their place in the side against Dortmund.

Ludwig Augustinsson, Nick Woltemade and Luca Plogmann remain sidelined, while Leonardo Bittencourt will be hoping for a recall to the starting XI after enduring a spell on the substitutes' bench.

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Hitz; Meunier, Akanji, Hummels, Guerreiro; Can, Bellingham; Hazard, Reus, Reyna; Haaland

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:
Pavlenka; Veljkovic, Moisander, Friedl; Gebre Selassie, Mbom, Mohwald, Schmid; Rashica, Bittencourt; Sargent


SM words green background

We say: Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Werder Bremen

Despite potentially having some tired legs after Wednesday's defeat to Man City, we still expect Dortmund to have too much attacking class for Bremen to be able to handle in their current state.

Indeed, Kohfeldt's side are in a serious rut right now, and may face a nervous wait to secure their safety this campaign, if indeed it arrives at all.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:data



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Written by
Brett Curtis

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Borussia Dortmund win with a probability of 62.66%. A draw had a probability of 20.3% and a win for Werder Bremen had a probability of 17.02%.

The most likely scoreline for a Borussia Dortmund win was 2-0 with a probability of 10.03%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.94%) and 1-0 (9.6%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.51%), while for a Werder Bremen win it was 1-2 (4.71%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 3.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Borussia Dortmund would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Dortmund vs Werder Bremen

Borussia Dortmund
84.4%
Draw
8.9%
Werder Bremen
6.7%
45
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Jadon Sancho in action for Borussia Dortmund on February 2, 2021
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayern MunichBayern13103041103133
2Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt1383233181527
3Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen1375130201026
4RB Leipzig137332114724
5Wolfsburg136342922721
6Borussia DortmundDortmund136342420421
7Freiburg136341717021
8Stuttgart135532623320
9Mainz 05Mainz135442318519
10Werder Bremen135442024-419
11Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach135351918118
12Union BerlinUnion Berlin134451214-216
13Augsburg134451625-916
14Hoffenheim133461825-713
15St Pauli133281117-611
16Heidenheim133191728-1110
17Holstein Kiel1312101333-205
18VfL BochumVfL Bochum1302111034-242


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