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

Desperate to distance themselves from the Bundesliga's relegation zone, Werder Bremen will welcome Borussia Monchengladbach to the Weserstadion on Saturday.

Die Werderaner are still waiting for their first win of 2026, while Die Fohlen have won just once this year so far.

Match preview

Horst Steffen's Werder endured a difficult end to 2025, and while they had hoped the winter break and turn of the year could spark a turnaround, it has yet to materialise.

On Tuesday, Die Werderaner were downed 2-0 by Hoffenheim on their own turf, marking the club's third defeat in four games and extending their overall winless run to a dire 10 matches.

That latest disappointment also saw Steffen's side drop down to 15th in the Bundesliga, where their tally of 18 points means they are just three above 16th-placed Mainz 05, who occupy the division's relegation playoff spot.

Desperate to avoid being dragged further into a demotion scrap, the hosts will call upon the support of the crowd at the Weserstadion, where they have fared marginally better and alternated between losses and draws since their most recent victory back in November.

However, fans of Die Werderaner will be wary of the fact that their team have conceded nine goals in their last three home clashes, scoring just three in response, all of which came during Bremen's 3-3 stalemate with Eintracht Frankfurt on January 16.

Meanwhile, Eugen Polanski's Gladbach began the 2025-26 campaign with four straight wins across the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal, but their own recent struggles have caused their European dreams to crumble.

Ahead of this weekend, Die Fohlen were handily beaten 3-0 by Stuttgart, a game that saw Die Borussen striker Haris Tabakovic miss a penalty, and fellow Foals star Joe Scally score an own goal.

In isolation, a defeat against one of the most in-form teams in the top flight would be acceptable, but the club were also held to a 0-0 draw by relegation-threatened Hamburger SV on January 17 after a 5-1 hammering at the hands of Hoffenheim three days prior.

All-in-all, Polanski's men have lost four times, drawn once and won just once during their last six competitive outings, a poor return that has left Gladbach 11th in the table, 12 points short of the top six and only two above their opponents.

Hoping to see the level of performance that secured Die Fohlen three straight away wins between November and early December, the more optimistic amongst the travelling fans will take heart from the fact that their team have only lost against sides in the current top three during their last six on the road.

Werder Bremen Bundesliga form:

Borussia Monchengladbach Bundesliga form:

Team News

Werder will be lighter than ideal in defence this weekend without centre-backs Amos Pieper and Maximilian Wober, who are dealing with respective knee and thigh injuries, while fellow centre-half Niklas Stark has a hip issue.

To make matters worse, the hosts are missing right wing-backs Isaac Schmidt and Mitchell Weiser, though Julian Malatini, Abdoul Karim Coulibaly and Marco Friedl should be on hand to form a back three, flanked by Yukinari Sugawara and Olivier Deman.

Elsewhere, Senne Lynen, Jens Stage and Romano Schmid are likely to start in the centre of the park with Leonardo Bittencourt sidelined due to a muscle injury, while Justin Njinmah and Marco Grull should start up top with Salim Musah and Victor Boniface out.

As for Gladbach, they are dealing with the opposite problem - missing players up front - in the absence of striker Tim Kleindienst, left-winger Robin Hack and right-winger Nathan N'Goumou, though the latter is closing in a return from a long-term Achilles injury.

Additionally, attacking midfielder Giovanni Reyna is a doubt with a muscle issue, so expect to see Franck Honorat and Florian Neuhaus supporting striker Haris Tabakovic on Saturday.

In defence, centre-back Kevin Diks has been ruled out of this weekend's clash due to problematic headaches that meant he was only able to train partially. With that in mind, Philipp Sander could join Kota Takai and Nico Elvedi in Polanski's back three.

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:

Backhaus; Malatini, Friedl, Coulibaly; Sugawara, Schmid, Lynen, Stage, Deman; Njinmah, Grull

Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:

Nicolas; Takai, Elvedi, Sander; Scally, Reitz, Sander, Netz; Honorat, Neuhaus; Tabakovic

We say: Werder Bremen 1-1 Borussia Monchengladbach

Werder have struggled for wins in recent months, and though their opponents have hardly fared better, they look unlikely to get a victory over the line this weekend.

Gladbach will be desperate to get back on track, but considering that they have won just one - and lost four - of their last six in the league, they may have to settle for a draw on Saturday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.