Werder Bremen take on Eintracht Frankfurt at Weserstadion in the Bundesliga on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors are yet to win this season, so they will be looking to get their campaign up and running this weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
Bremen, on the other hand, have made an excellent impact upon their return to the Bundesliga, remaining unbeaten with five points from three matches.
Their first victory back in Germany's top flight came in the most dramatic circumstances last weekend, with Die Werderaner coming back from two goals behind away to Borussia Dortmund to score three goals in the last six minutes of the match.
Julian Brandt's and Raphael Guerreiro's strikes from distance either side of half-time looked to have sent BVB on their way to a comfortable victory, but three of Bremen's substitutes had other ideas. Lee Buchanan gave the visitors hope with a delightfully stabbed finish into the top corner in the 89th minute, before Niklas Schmidt sparked jubilant scenes when his bullet header levelled the proceedings in the third minute of injury time.
However, Bremen were not content to leave Dortmund with just a point, with Oliver Burke scoring a last-gasp goal for the second successive week after racing in behind Dortmund's high defensive line before smashing past Gregor Kobel at the near post to complete one of the craziest comebacks in Bundesliga history.
Bremen boss Ole Werner would have expected a relegation dog-fight this season, but his side's strong start has given them a sturdy platform to build from, even if he will be keeping his players' feet on the ground ahead of a tricky test against Frankfurt on Sunday.
© Reuters
Frankfurt, meanwhile, could be experiencing a minor comedown after the high of winning the Europa League last season, which also means they will be competing against Tottenham Hotspur, Sporting Lisbon and Marseille in the Champions League group stage this season after learning their fate in Thursday's draw.
In the meantime, though, Oliver Glasner's side need to start putting points on the board in the Bundesliga, with two draws and one defeat representing a sub-par start to the season for Die Adler.
Losing to Bayern Munich was always the likeliest outcome for Frankfurt, even if the manner of their 6-1 defeat at home to the reigning champions was a bitter pill to swallow, but two 1-1 draws against Hertha Berlin and FC Koln undoubtedly leaves them a little off-track heading to Bremen on Sunday.
With Daichi Kamada scoring both of Frankfurt's goals in those two draws, Glasner will be hoping that his other attackers will step up soon, especially as the Japanese attacking midfielder is not always a regular starter for his side.
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- W
- L
- D
- D
- W
- L
- L
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Bremen remain without Jean-Manuel Mbom (Achilles), Dikeni Salifou (abductor) and Eren Dinkci (muscle strain) for the visit of Frankfurt on Sunday.
Despite his substitutes making such a positive impact against Dortmund last time out, Werner is unlikely to change a winning side, with the likes of Burke and Buchanan expected to be patient for their chance from the start.
Frankfurt, meanwhile, will travel without defenders Jerome Onguene (thigh), Almamy Toure (hamstring) and Aurelio Buta (knee), while Ajdin Hrustic is also doubtful due to a thigh strain.
Glasner switched to a back four against Koln but he is likely to revert to his preferred 3-4-3 formation for this away trip, with Kamada, Ansgar Knauff and Makoto Hasebe potentially replacing Kristijan Jakic, Randal Kolo and Jesper Lindstrom.
Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:
Pavlenka; Pieper, Veljkovic, Friedl; Weiser, Bittencourt, Grob, Stage, Jung; Fullkrug, Ducksch
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Tuta, Hasebe, Ndicka; Knauff, Sow, Rode, Pellegrini; Kamada, Gotze; Borre
We say: Werder Bremen 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
With both sides lining up with similar formations, we can envisage a third successive draw for Frankfurt on Sunday.
Neither side will want to lose the match and, as such, they could cancel each other out to an extent.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Brett Curtis
