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

Both teams will be hoping to bounce back from defeat when Werder Bremen take on Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga's Saturday evening kickoff slot.

The hosts lost 4-2 away to SV Darmstadt 98, while Hoffenheim were beaten 3-1 at home by Borussia Dortmund.

Match preview

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Indeed, Werder Bremen's 4-2 defeat to Darmstadt was their second successive loss to a newly-promoted side by the same scoreline, having also been beaten 4-2 by Heidenheim in their previous away game.

Ole Werner and his players will undoubtedly view those results as two wasted opportunities to put serious distance between themselves and the relegation zone, which they are only three points clear of heading into this weekend's action.

Die Werderaner's performance at Darmstadt was even worse than away to Heidenheim, where they had at least been in the contest after coming from two goals behind to level the proceedings before ultimately falling two goals behind once again. This time around, they were 4-0 down within 62 minutes, rendering Olivier Demen's and Milos Veljkovic's late goals as nothing more than consolation strikes.

Werner's side were beaten 4-0 at home by the reigning champions Bayern Munich in the 2023-24 Bundesliga curtain-raiser, but they have since beaten Mainz 05 and FC Koln in their last two home games, so they will be confident of extending that run at Weserstadion on Saturday.

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However, despite losing to Dortmund for the fifth successive meeting last time out, Hoffenheim will head to Bremen in decent form having recorded four successive victories prior to that defeat.

Die Kraichgauer looked to be heading into the half-time interval on level terms after Andrej Kramaric's penalty had cancelled out former Werder Bremen striker Niclas Fullkrug's opener, but Marco Reus had other ideas when scoring in the third minute of first-half injury-time, with Julian Ryerson settling the contest late on after Ramy Bensebaini's dismissal had provided a glimmer of hope for the hosts.

Having beaten Heidenheim, Wolfsburg, Koln and Union Berlin in each of their previous four games to move onto 12 points from their opening five games, though, Sebastian Hoeness will undoubtedly chalk their last game off as an expected defeat against one of the division's strongest teams.

After all, Hoffenheim were at serious risk of being relegated last season until Hoeness eventually managed to turn things around after initially making a slow start following his appointment in February, so a season of mid-table security with a view to challenging for a European qualification spot would represent major progress.

Team News

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Werder Bremen will remain without club captain Marco Friedl due to an abdominal strain, but Niklas Stark could return to the heart of the hosts' defence after overcoming his recent groin injury.

Werner may look to freshen things up further than that after their disappointing performance and result alike against Darmstadt last time out, with former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita in line to make his first start for the club after joining on a free transfer during the summer transfer window.

Hoffenheim, meanwhile, will travel without Pavel Kaderabek, Stanley Nsoki, Marco John, Bambase Conte and Dennis Geiger due to injury, but Wout Weghorst - who is on loan from Burnley for the season - could return from a hip issue to lead the visitors' line.

Either Grischa Promel or Maximilian Beier are likely to make way for the Netherlands striker, with Hoeness having to decide whether to utilise three midfielders or three central forwards from the outset.

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:

Pavlenka; Pieper, Stark, Veljković; Weiser, Keita, Lynen, Stage, Deman; Borre, Ducksch

Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:

Baumann; Kabak, Brooks, Vogt; Bebou, Promel, Grillitsch, Stach, Skov; Kramarić, Weghorst

We say: Werder Bremen 1-2 Hoffenheim

Having ended last season in a serious slump after beginning the campaign so quickly to allay any relegation concerns, Werder Bremen could be in for a tougher campaign having sold their star striker Fullkrug to Dortmund.

Hoffenheim, on the other hand, appear to be a more serious proposition under Hoeness despite losing to BVB in their last match, and we can envisage the offensive combination of Kramaric and Weghorst helping the visitors to a marginal victory.

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