Preview: Werder Bremen vs Heidenheim - prediction, team news, lineups

The Bundesliga is gearing up for a basement battle this Saturday afternoon as Werder Bremen welcome Heidenheim to the Weserstadion for a fixture with huge relegation implications.

Currently occupying the two bottom places in the table, both clubs are running out of time to turn things around and secure their top-tier status for next season.

Match preview

The alarm bells are well and truly ringing at Werder Bremen, with the club in serious relegation trouble following a 13-match winless run in the Bundesliga.

The River Islanders have not tasted league victory since November, and they have collected just one point out of their last six outings - a run which has seen them drop to 17th in the standings.

Daniel Thioune recently replaced Horst Steffen as the head coach, and the former Hamburger SV boss has not done his popularity any favours by kicking off his reign with successive defeats.

The first loss did not come as much of a shock considering it was inflicted by the seemingly indomitable league leaders, but the second was far more painful as it came against fellow relegation rivals, St Pauli.

Thioune’s men were beaten 2-1 at the Millerntor Stadium despite dominating most of the statistics, including possession, shots, xG, and even corner kicks.

The lack of goals is becoming a serious problem for Bremen, and it is underlined by the fact that defensively minded midfielder Jens Stage is the club’s top scorer this season with just six efforts to his name.

With Werder Bremen sitting one point from safety, their position is pretty worrying, though it pales in comparison to the feeling of desperation around Heidenheim.

Currently bottom of the table and sitting six points from safety, defeat on Saturday for Frank Schmidt and his men would seemingly crush any survival hopes.

No team in the competition has picked up fewer wins than Heidenheim’s three, and no side has conceded more goals than their tally of 51 - two stats which underline just how poor FCH have been.

Schmidt’s side are in the midst of a 10-match winless run in the Bundesliga, picking up just three points out of a possible 30 along the way.

In more positive news, Heidenheim came close to ending their barren run against Stuttgart last weekend, though they ultimately had to settle for a 3-3 draw after the Swabians grabbed an 88th-minute equaliser.

Werder Bremen Bundesliga form:

L L D L L L

Werder Bremen form (all competitions):

L L D L L L

Heidenheim Bundesliga form:

D L L L L D

Heidenheim form (all competitions):

D L L L L D

Team News

Werder Bremen received disappointing news regarding forward Samuel Mbangula, with Thursday’s MRI confirming a thigh injury.

Mbangula will be joining a lengthy injury list which already includes Wesley Adeh (ligament), Felix Agu (adductor), Victor Boniface (knee), Abdoul Coulibaly (muscle), Amos Pieper (knee), Mitchell Weiser (ligament), and Maximilian Wober (muscle).

If that was not enough to worry about, there are five players in the squad who are just one booking away from a suspension, including Marco Grull, Senne Lynen, Cameron Puertas, Romano Schmid and top scorer Jens Stage.

Heidenheim are also facing squad issues, though when it comes to certain players, the club are keeping their cards close to their chest.

Leart Pacarada is a definite absentee, as the Kosovo international continues to recover from a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Elsewhere, there are doubts over Diant Ramaj, Marnon Busch and Eren Dinkci after the trio missed training on Wednesday, though at the time of writing there has been no comment from the club.

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:

Backhaus; Malatini, Stark, Friedl; Njinmah, Stage, Lynen, Deman; Grull, Schmid; Milosevic

Heidenheim possible starting lineup:

Ramaj; Mainka, Gimber, Siersleben; Traore, Niehues, Dorsch, Behrens; Dinkci, Ibrahimovic; Pieringer