Werder Bremen Vs Borussia Dortmund: Guests Hunting For Second Victory, Hosts Are Haunted By Injury Crisis!

Borussia Dortmund will try to win second (photo; x @bvb)

JAKARTA - Borussia Dortmund will try to win their second win in the Bundesliga this season on Saturday 31 August, when they travel to Wesers Stadium to face Werder Bremen.

The home side, Werder Bremen, previously drew 2-2 against Augsburg on August 24 in their opening match for the Bundesliga's 2024-25 season. They are eighth after one week of the game, while Borussia Dortmund are in third place with three points after beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 on the same date.

In their first game of the season, Werder Bremen took the lead thanks to Felix Agu's goal in the 12th minute, but they conceded a goal just four minutes later, despite Elvis Rexhbecaj's excellent long-range shot quality affecting the situation.

Samuel Essende's goal in the 35th minute left Werder Bremen 2-1 behind when the first half ended, but Justin Njinmah's equalizer goal in the 58th minute was enough to get their first point this season.

The fact that both teams recorded 11 shots may indicate that the game was balanced, but Werder Bremen will be disappointed that he conceded two goals considering Augsburg only recorded 0.15 xG.

Coach Ole Werner will also be worried because after Njinmah scored the goals of his two teams, Werder Bremen was unable to control the game and only registered two additional shots.

These results left Werner and his team unbeaten in their last six Bundesliga games, although they have recorded only one clean sheet in their last 13 league games.

On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund came to this match after winning 2-0 in Nuri Sahin's first league game as coach, but they could say they were lucky not to concede first.

Fares Chaibi of Eintracht Frankfurt wasted a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 71st minute when he failed to score from close range, and his team was punished one minute later when Jamie Bynoe-Gittens scored Dortmund's first goal.

Sahin's team recorded 70% possession and 20 shots, 13 of which came from inside the penalty area.

Dortmund looked more proactive in their opening game of the season compared to the previous era of coach Edin Terzic, as can be seen from the fact that they made 646 passes accurate against Eintracht Frankfurt, a figure much higher than their league average last season of 481.6.

Dortmund collected 30 of their 63 points in the 2023-24 season while away, and they had the third best record in the league while playing outside the home, with only Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen recording better results.

However, Sahin's side have lost their last two away Bundesliga games, although before the game they won six and drew four from 10 away games before.

Coach Ole Werner is unlikely to be strengthened by Jens Stage and Milos Veljkovic, both of whom are working on their workload after a 2-2 draw against Augsburg.

Werder Bremen must also face the absence of Amos Pieper, who is still recovering after suffering a muscle injury in late July.

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund will lose Kjell Watjen due to a knee injury, while Serhou Guirassy is doubtful but is nearing recovery.

On the other hand, Dortmund can put up a three-back formation consisting of Waldemar Anton, Niklas Sule, and Nico Schlotterbeck in front of goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, and they will probably give Bynoe-Gittens a chance to play after his impressive performance against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Player Composition Forecast

Werder Bremen: Zetterer; Stark, Friedl, Jung; Weiser, Lynden, Stage, Agu; Schmid, Ducksch; Topp

Borussia Dortmund Lineup Estimated: Kobel; Anton, Sule, Schlotterbeck; Ryerson, Can, Gross, Malen; Sabitzer, Brandt; Bynoe-Gittens