The 2023/24 Bundesliga season kicks off in style for SV Werder Bremen, with defending champions FC Bayern München the visitors to the wohninvest WESERSTADION for matchday 1’s Friday night curtain-raiser (20:30 CEST). With new signing Harry Kane set to start, it’s sure to be a real test right out of the gate for Ole Werner’s boys.
Team news: Dikeni Salifou misses out through illness. Naby Keïta and Felix Agu are still recovering from injuries and also won’t be part of the squad on Friday night. The same goes for Nick Woltemade, who is currently sidelined with back problems. “Mitchell Weiser and Marco Friedl have another week of training behind them, so are both candidates for the starting line-up. We’ll have to see whether they have 90 minutes in them or not,” said Ole Werner at his press conference on Thursday.
Head coach Ole Werner on the opponents: “It’s a new season. Bayern have gone through changes of their own too. Our approach for the game is clear: we’re without doubt the underdogs and will have to be incredibly organised off the ball. We need to make life difficult for them and defend compactly, but we will also need to find the right moments where we can make our mark and cause them problems. That’s crucial for us because that’s where our strengths lie.”
Previous meetings: SV Werder Bremen versus FC Bayern München is one of the most historic fixtures in Bundesliga history. This will be the 113th top-flight meeting between the sides – a figure unparalleled. Werder have 26 wins to their name, the same amount of times as there have been draws, while FCB have claimed victory on 60 occasions. The last time they met in the season opener was in 2016, a game which ended in a 6-0 home win for the Munich side. The most recent clash was a much closer affair, as the Green-Whites were edged out 2-1 on matchday 31 of last season.
Long overdue: Werder have failed to pick up a point against Bayern over the last 13 years, with the famous 5-2 win in Munich back in 2008 their most recent victory over the champions. However, SVW showed last season that they can cause the Bavarians problems. Anthony Jung scored after some quick interplay in the away match, while Niklas Schmidt found the target with a long-range belter in the narrow 2-1 home defeat – the key ingredient for both goals was belief in our own quality.
A likely draw? While games between FCB and Werder have produced plenty of goals in recent years, the overall record suggests a very different outcome. 1-1 is the most common league result between the two teams (15 times), while there have also been seven goalless draws. It might not prove the most attractive of matches for the neutral, but a point against Bayern to kick off the Bundesliga campaign would certainly be something to celebrate for Bremen fans.
