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

Freiburg will be aiming to make it two wins from two when they host Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

The visitors will be hoping to bounce back from their 4-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in last Friday's 2023-24 season curtain-raiser.

Match preview

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Having finished sixth and fifth in the last two seasons, Freiburg suggested that they are set to challenge for the Champions League qualification positions once again this time around by opening with a 2-1 win away to Hoffenheim.

Debutant Attila Szalai handed the visitors the lead six minutes before half time by scoring an own goal, before Roland Sallai doubled Christian Streich's side's lead three minutes into first half injury-time.

Former Liverpool defender Ozan Kabak pulled one back five minutes after the break, with both teams pushing hard to find a decisive fourth goal in the game, which was an extremely shot-heavy one with Hoffenheim having 22 efforts to Freiburg's tally of 18.

Streich will have been delighted to see his side hold onto all three points ahead of winnable fixtures against Werder Bremen and Stuttgart prior to the international break, and he will be targeting maximum points with trickier fixtures against Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt to come later in September.

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Werder Bremen, on the other hand, were handed the toughest possible start to their season by facing the reigning champions Bayern on the opening day, and they were duly beaten 4-0 by the Bavarians during a one-sided contest.

England striker Harry Kane was inspired on his debut for Bayern, assisting Leroy Sane's opener after just four minutes, before he essentially settled the match by scoring his first goal for the club 16 minutes from time. Sane doubled his tally in the last minute of normal time, before Mathys Tel added gloss to his side's victory four minutes later.

As expected, Die Werderaner struggled to threaten Thomas Tuchel's side's goal, forcing Sven Ulreich into only one save and having just 27% possession across the course of the contest. Still, it is not those type of matches which will dictate Werder Bremen's season as a successful one or not.

However, Ole Werner may be concerned about his side's general slump, having won just two of their last 16 league matches dating back to early February. Much of that could be put down to all but securing their survival early on in their first season back in the Bundesliga, but they cannot afford such poor form to linger if they are to repeat that this time around.

Team News

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Freiburg are set to remain without Nicolas Hofler for one more match through suspension due to the midfielder's dismissal against Wolfsburg last season, meaning that Merlin Rohl may deputise in the engine room after impressing against Hoffenheim.

Junior Adamu and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh both remain sidelined through knee injuries, with Streich unlikely to change a winning team. As such, the likes of Ritsu Doan, Kiliann Sildillia and Yannik Keitel may have to settle for appearing from the bench.

Werder Bremen, meanwhile, will travel without Naby Keita due to a groin injury. The former Liverpool midfielder, who joined on a free transfer during the summer, is yet to make his debut for the club.

Felix Agu is also unlikely to feature due to a lack of match fitness, but Romano Schmid and Christian Gross will both hope to be called upon from the start should Werner seek more experience in midfield.

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Atubolu; Kubler, Ginter, Lienhart, Gunter; Rohl, Eggestein; Sallai, Grifo; Gregoritsch, Holer

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:

Pavlenka; Pieper, Veljkovic, Friedl; Weiser, Schmid, Lynen, Bittencourt, Jung; Fullkrug, Ducksch

We say: Freiburg 3-1 Werder Bremen

Freiburg will have been hugely boosted by getting their season off to a winning start, with Streich likely to have been fearful of his players being in a mini-slump after narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Champions League last season.

Werder Bremen should not be judged too harshly on their heavy defeat to Bayern, who can thrash any team on their day, but their long-term form is more alarming and they could be involved in a relegation battle this season. We expect the hosts to record a comfortable victory, with goals likely to be on the agenda.

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