Freiburg vs Werder Bremen Preview: Team News & Prediction
by Alex Lawes ·
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Freiburg are back for more as they continue an incredible 15 years or so, beginning this season against a middling Werder Bremen side.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports / USA – ESPN
How to watch online: UK – Sky Go / USA – ESPN+
Freiburg preview: Still strong
Having reached the final of the UEFA Europa League, succumbing to a 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the final, Freiburg are expected to go perform well in Europe again in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
That is because they managed to finish seventh in the Bundesliga table. Taking over from Christian Streich a couple of years ago, Julian Schuster has managed to ensure that Freiburg still consistently punch above their weight in Germany.
In midweek, Freiburg completed a 7-2 aggregate victory over Motherwell in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Werder Bremen preview: Steady Werder
Werder Bremen finished just outside of the bottom three and the danger zone in the Bundesliga last season. They were involved in the relegation battle up until the final day of the season before just about steering clear.
Daniel Thioune, who took charge of Werder during the March international break and did spark some sort of improvement, remains in charge for this season with the ambition being again likely simply being to try and push clear of the bottom three and the relegation places.
Freiburg team news: No confirmed absentees
Freiburg welcome Werder to the Europa-Park Stadion with no confirmed injury or suspension absentees this weekend but Rihito Yamamoto is a doubt.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Muller; Kubler, Ginter, Lienhart, Gunter; Eggestein, Engelhardt; Suzuki, Holer, Beste; Matanovic
Unavailable:
Questionable: Yamamoto (Injured)
Werder Bremen team news: A few doubts
Werder Bremen are dealing with a few doubts for this one as goalkeeper Karl Hein is potentially sidelined alongside midfielder Felix Agu and versatile forward Eren Dinkci.
Predicted XI (3-4-3): Schlager; Pieper, Stark, Friedl; Malatini, Stage, Lynen, Deman; Mbangula, Fullkrug, Njinmah
Unavailable: Weiser (Injured), Topp (Injured)
Questionable: Hein (Injured), Stark (Injured), Agu (Injured), Stalmach (Injured), Dinkci (Injured)
Freiburg vs Werder Bremen prediction
Werder managed to avoid relegation through their defensive prowess because their attacking quality was poor throughout, scoring just 37 goals in their 34 games with only rock-bottom St Pauli also scoring fewer than 40. Freiburg are hardly the most proactive team but they have a variety of ways of hurting their opposition and that pragmatism is expected to be enough to get past Werder on the opening day of the campaign, especially with their home advantage.
Freiburg vs Werder Bremen tip: Freiburg to win
