Preview: Werder Bremen vs Bayern Munich - prediction, team news, lineups

A loss for Bayern Munich against hosts Werder Bremen at Weserstadion on Saturday could allow Borussia Dortmund to move within touching distance in the Bundesliga title race.

The Bavarians may be in first place with 54 points, but they are only six ahead of second-placed Dortmund, though Saturday's opponents are in 16th place with just 19 points following their 1-0 loss against Freiburg on February 7.

Match preview

Bremen were once again disappointing when they faced Freiburg, with the club failing to produce more than 0.97 xG despite having a man advantage from the 52nd minute.

The Green-Whites occupy the relegation playoff spot, though while they are only two points above 17th-placed St Pauli, they are level on points with 15th-placed Wolfsburg.

Boss Daniel Thioune was only appointed on February 4, so while he cannot be held responsible for his team's poor season, he will still be alarmed that his side are winless in their past 11 Bundesliga outings.

That is the longest winless streak in the top flight, and the club failed to find the back of the net seven times in those matches, while also conceding at least two goals on six occasions.

Bremen have drawn three and lost two of their five most recent games at home, though they did emerge as victors in their prior three contests at Weserstadion

Bayern were at their creative best when they beat Hoffenheim 5-1 on February 8, producing over six xG, 11 big chances and scoring five goals for the eighth time this season.

The Bavarians followed up that win with a 2-0 success against RB Leipzig in the quarter-final of the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday.

Vincent Kompany's side will face Dortmund on February 28, and the head coach will know that the threat of BVB must be taken seriously given their rivals have won their past five league matches.

The visitors emerged as 4-0 winners in their home clash with Werder Bremen in September 2025, their seventh victory in eight meetings with the Green-Whites.

Bayern are unbeaten in four games, emerging as winners on three occasions, scoring 11 goals and conceding four times.

Kompany's team are also undefeated in their last seven away trips, with the club getting the better of their opponents in six of those fixtures.

Werder Bremen Bundesliga form:

Bayern Munich Bundesliga form:

Bayern Munich form (all competitions):

Team News

Bremen striker Victor Boniface continues his extended spell on the sidelines because of a knee injury, and his absence means Keke Topp is set for another start up front.

With defenders such as Amos Pieper (knee) and Niklas Stark (hip) unavailable, Julian Malatini, Marco Friedl and Karim Coulibaly could feature in a three-man defence.

Bayern's only absentee is winger Michael Olise, who is suspended due to the accumulation of five yellow cards.

Teenager Lennart Karl is a likely inclusion in place of the suspended forward, while Luis Diaz is certain to appear on the left flank.

Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will hope that centre-backs Jonathan Tah and Kim Min-jae can prevent him from having to make many saves.

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:

Backhaus; Malatini, Friedl, Coulibaly; Sugawara, Stage, Lynen, Schmid, Agu; Grull, Topp

Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:

Neuer; Stanisic, Tah, Kim, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Karl, Musiala, Diaz; Kane