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

Hoping to break into the Bundesliga's top four, Stuttgart will travel to take on Werder Bremen at Weserstadion on Sunday.

Die Werderaner are looking for their first win in four games this weekend, while Die Roten will be desperate to avoid another league defeat.

Match preview

Horst Steffen's Werder built some upward momentum with a five-match unbeaten run between early October and early November, but with two losses from their three most recent outings, they have hit a stumbling block.

Last Sunday, Die Werderaner were downed 3-2 by Hamburger SV, a result that will be particularly disappointing to the manager considering that his team took the lead though Jens Stage and even fought back to 2-2, only to concede once again in the 84th minute.

That defeat has left Steffen's side 12th in the table, where their tally of 16 points puts them five clear of the bottom three, but six short of the European places.

With that in mind, it would be fair to say that the next few weeks could decide the direction of Werder's campaign, as victory may be enough to lift the club as high as eighth, while a heavy loss could see them fall down to 14th.

However, given that the hosts have won three and drawn one of their last four at Weserstadion, home fans will head to the ground feeling optimistic about their side's chances of securing another positive result.

Meanwhile, Stuttgart qualified for the Europa League after winning the DFB-Pokal in 2024-25, but they will be hoping to reach the Champions League directly from the top flight this term.

That being said, Sebastian Hoeness's men have not taken maximum points from any of their last three Bundesliga games, losing the past two, including a 5-0 hammering at the hands of Bayern Munich on December 6.

VfB may have battered Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-1 in Europe since then, but attention will be on the fact that they sit sixth, just one point in front of seventh-placed Eintracht Frankfurt ahead of Sunday's clash.

Looking over their shoulder at Die Adler, supporters of Die Roten may be nervous given that the visitors have won just one of their last four top-flight away games, though the more positive minded amongst the Stuttgart faithful will take heart from seeing the club win two of their last three on the road across all competitions.

Another triumph could see Hoeness's side breach the top four, leapfrogging Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen in the process, though a third-straight Bundesliga defeat might have the disastrous consequence of dropping them out of the European places altogether.

Werder Bremen Bundesliga form:

Stuttgart Bundesliga form:

Stuttgart form (all competitions):

Team News

Werder Bremen will be without striker Victor Boniface due to a knee injury, and with 19-year-old forward Salim Musah also missing, Keke Topp could start up front, supported by Samuel Mbangula and Cameron Puertas from out wide.

At the opposite end of the pitch, centre-back Maximilian Wober is dealing with a hamstring issue, so expect to see Amos Pieper and Abdoul Karim Coulibaly at the heart of defence, flanked by Yukinari Sugawara and Marco Friedl as Mitchell Weiser and Felix Agu remain sidelined.

As for Stuttgart, they are lighter than ideal in their own backline, missing both Luca Jaquez and Dan-Axel Zagadou at centre-half, as well as right-back Lorenz Assignon, who is suspended after being sent off against Bayern.

In their absence, Hoeness should opt for Julian Chabot and Ramon Hendriks at centre-back, with Josha Vagnomann and Maximilian Mittelstadt lining up at full-back.

Elsewhere, midfielder Yannik Keitel will sit out, though Chema should be on hand to start next to Angelo Stiller in the centre of the park, while striker Ermedin Demirovic is working his way back from a foot injury, so Deniz Undav should lead the line once again.

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:

Backhaus; Sugawara, Pieper, Coulibaly, Friedl; Stage, Lynen; Puertas, Schmid, Mbangula; Njinmah

Stuttgart possible starting lineup:

Nubel; Vagnoman, Chabot, Hendriks, Mittelstadt; Chema, Stiller; Leweling, El Khannouss, Fuhrich; Undav

We say: Werder Bremen 1-1 Stuttgart

Werder may have lost two of their last three games ahead of kick off, but with three wins and a draw from their last four at home, they will be confident of avoiding defeat at the very least.

Stuttgart do not have the best record on the road in recent weeks, though with Frankfurt putting pressure on the visitors, they could be spurred on to earn a potentially crucial point on Sunday.

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