After 76 days of pre-season, SV Werder are finally back in competitive action. On Saturday 12th August at 15:30 CEST, the Green-Whites will visit Viktoria Köln in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. SVW are looking for a strong start to their 2023/24 campaign against the Cologne-based club. However, with a familiar face in the squad, the third-tier side will instead set out to make the Green-Whites’ season opener as difficult as possible.
Team news: New signing Senne Lynen will be featured in the squad on Saturday, alongside the recently injured Marco Friedl and Mitchell Weiser. Only Naby Keïta and Felix Agu, who are still recovering from injury, remain unavailable. Head coach Ole Werner commented at Thursday’s press conference: “There’s still a question mark over Manuel Mbom. Other than that, every player is available.”
Head coach Ole Werner on the opponents: “Viktoria Köln are a third-tier side who’ve already played and won a competitive game. It definitely won’t be an easy task. We have to brace ourselves for the atmosphere of an away game to a third-tier team in the Pokal, and be conscious that they’ll challenge our concentration, structure and physicality. It is not the first DFB-Pokal first-round game for any of us, so we know what’s coming our way. I think we’re well-prepared by knowing that a strong team awaits us. They have a clear way of playing and they always have a trick up their sleeves from set pieces. We are prepared for this, and it’s down to us to bring our quality onto the field.”
The opposition: Viktoria Köln finished the third division in ninth place in the 2022/23 league table, and have already played a competitive match in the new season. The first league game against SC Verl resulted in a 3-1 home victory for the side, with David Philipp on the scoresheet. Including a short break, the midfielder played for Werder from 2014 to 2021 and is particularly excited for the reunion on Saturday.
The last encounter: SVW will face Viktoria in a competitive fixture for the first time ever on Saturday. In addition to the undeniable quality of David Philipp, Olaf Janßen’s team have formed a deadly trio of new signings in Bryan Henning, Stefano Russo and Donny Bogicevic.
