SV Werder Bremen will take on 1. FSV Mainz 05 at home on the 2nd September 2023 at 15:30 CEST. Following a challenging start to the Bundesliga campaign, Ole Werner’s team are determined to work together towards success by battling hard as a team and putting on a show for the crowd at the wohninvest WESERSTADION.
The squad: New signing Olivier Deman will be in the squad after only joining Werder on Thursday. Felix Agu and Naby Keïta won’t be involved in the fixture, and are continuing to work hard on their injury rehabilitation.
Head coach Ole Werner on the opposition: “We are expecting them to play with the same tactics that they’ve used for the past few years – hitting many long balls, covering lots of ground, and winning the second ball to then play it directly towards goal. We need to defend this well in our 1-v-1 battles, and track back when we lose possession. It’s also crucial that we can outwit Mainz’s strategic press, and stretch the pitch to be able to play the ball around. If we fall into their traps, they will be a very difficult team to beat – not just for us, but for every team in this league.”
The last meetings: The two teams will face each other for the 33rd time in the Bundesliga. SVW have won 14 of these games (D7, L11). In the most recent game, SVW and FSV saved the best for the end of the match. On the 27th matchday of the 22/23 season, all four goals in the 2-2 draw came after the 85th minute. Werder came back from behind twice and managed to claim an important point.
Brick wall Pavlas: A solid defensive performance will be essential if SVW want to defeat Mainz. To date, Jiri Pavlenka has proved very hard to beat in net. He played very well against Freiburg, making a double save amongst other good blocks. Overall, he has made 12 saves in two matches, a joint league high so far this season.
Susceptible from crosses: Although Mainz are the team with the greatest success in aerial duels (123),they displayed clear signs of weakness when defending crosses on the first two matchdays. Union Berlin’s Kevin Behrens scored three headers against the 05ers in their first Bundesliga fixture of the season, and Omar Marmoush slotted one home from a low ball into the box a week later after Mainz failed to track their runners.
