1. FC Union Berlin will face their next Bundesliga opponent on Saturday, 28.10.2023 when head coach Urs Fischer's team will face SV Werder Bremen as part of the 9th matchday. Kick off at the Wohninvest Weserstadion is at 15:30.
The opponents
After a one-year intermezzo in the second division, SV Werder Bremen returned to the Bundesliga in May 2022, celebrating staying up on the penultimate matchday of last season. The German international Niclas Füllkrug played a major role in this success, scoring 16 times to become the league's top scorer. In the summer, however, the striker was lured away to play for Borussia Dortmund.
So far, the club from the Hanseatic city have not been able to replace the goal-getter with an equal, and in eight games, SVW have only won twice, including 4-2 defeats against promoted Darmstadt and Heidenheim. After the 1-0 away defeat at BVB last weekend, coach Ole Werner was increasingly criticised, but those responsible around sporting director Frank Baumann have so far expressed their confidence in the promoted coach.
Consequent to the negative run of form, the Green-Whites are also suffering from injuries. Midfielder Naby Keïta, who was signed from Liverpool FC in the summer, has repeatedly struggled with muscular problems, and so far, the 2019 Champions League winner has not played a competitive match for Werder over the full distance.
The reunion
In the current Bremen squad, Nicolai Rapp is the only player with a Berlin past. In 2019, the defender played four competitive games for Union and celebrated promotion to the Bundesliga with the Köpenick side. But there is a former Unioner on the bench in the form of co-trainer Patrick Kohlmann. Between 2008 and 2014, the German-Irish full-back played 175 times for Union.
Union striker Kevin Behrens trained with SVW's youth team between 2008 and 2010, meanwhile, and played for Werder's third team in the 2010/11 season.
The head to head
The two clubs met for the first time in August 2009 in the first round of the DFB Pokal, with Bremen winning 5-0. Since then, there have been six further duels in which Union have come out on top five times. On matchday 17 of last season, the Eisernen won 2-1 at the Weserstadion.
The personnel
András Schäfer, Josip Juranović and Danilho Doekhi will not be available on Saturday due to injury. A decision on the availablility of Jérôme Roussillon will be made after today's final training session. Union will also be without David Fofana, who has been suspended for a week after his behaviour following his substitution in the Champions League match against Napoli.
The coaches' views ahead of the game
"In Bremen, I expect a difficult and close game," said Fischer during his press onference on Thursday afternoon. "They are a team that are well appointed up front with Kownacki and Borré. And with Ducksch, they also have a target player who is good at holding the ball up and passing them on. For us, it will be about showing our virtues on the pitch like we did against Napoli - that means being nasty, being compact, showing solidarity and stressing the opponent relentlessly."
"To focus only on the table after eight match days is not particularly advisable," said Bremen coach, Werner, meanwhile. "But on the other hand, both teams know very clearly about their situation and neither will be satisfied with the points they've picked up so far. That goes for us as well as for Union... Despite all that, our task is to look at ourselves... to bring clarity onto the pitch and thus create a basis for a positive result on Saturday."
Service info
Around 3,600 Union fans will be there to support their team in Bremen, and there are no more away tickets available. Fan merchandise can be purchased on site at the Mobile-Zeughaus. Important information on visiting the stadium in Bremen can be found here (German).
The match will be broadcast live on Sky, and there will also be an audio stream on rbb24 Inforadio and at rbb24.de. As usual, Union will also provide information on the match in the club's own live ticker.
