After 93 days of pre-season, SV Werder Bremen are back. While the start of the Bundesliga gradually approaches, the Green-Whites’ first competitive fixture of the season will be a first-round DFB-Pokal clash against FC Energie Cottbus on Monday, 19th August at 18:00 CEST. It’s the second time in three years that SVW will play the Brandenburg side, who kicked off their 3. Liga campaign two weeks ago, in Germany’s domestic cup competition.
The squad: Two Green-Whites will be unavailable for the first competitive match of the season. Amos Pieper and Dikeni Salifou are both struggling with muscular problems and will not travel to Cottbus as a result. Head coach Ole Werner was very clear about who will be starting between the sticks for SVW on Monday: “Zetti is our number 1. We’ve spoken about the importance of the Pokal and that means our number 1 has to be playing.”
Head coach Ole Werner on the opposition: “They’re a team that can pose threats in a variety of ways. They have players who like to get forward. The fact that they can create danger from both passing play and long balls makes them stand out. We have to make sure we play our way in spite of their strengths. That means we need to inject pace into the game, keep things tight at the back and press well in the final third.”
????️ Ole Werner on Cottbus:
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) August 17, 2024
"The fact that their season is already underway is no disadvantage to them. That was clear to see in the games last night. However, that is no excuse. We aim to progress and to show our class."#werder#fcesvwpic.twitter.com/FQ4kTVqM6x
Previous meetings: Even though SVW and Energie Cottbus have not been in the same division for some time now, the two sides faced off against one another two years ago. Werder emerged victorious in the first-round clash back then thanks to goals from Romano Schmid and Mitchell Weiser. In total, the Green-Whites have played against Cottbus on 13 occasions, winning seven times. Cottbus have come out on top four times, with the other two encounters ending in stalemates.
A tough start to the campaign: FC Energie Cottbus have lost their opening two games of the 3. Liga season. Claus-Dieter Wollitz’s side led in their match against Arminia Bielefeld (2-1), as well as in an all-East German affair against Dynamo Dresden (4-2) but lost both encounters. Phil Halbauer is Cottbus’ top scorer so far this season, having netted in both games.
Familiar faces: Cottbus have two players with links to SVW in their ranks in Timmy Thiele and Henry Rorig. Thiele joined Werder’s U19 side in the 2009/10 campaign, where his impressive performances earned him a call-up to the second team. The Berlin-born attacker moved to FC Schalke 04 in 2011 due to a lack of playing time. Rorig was a member of the Green-Whites’ academy for five years, but made the switch to 1. FC Magdeburg in summer 2020 after struggling to make the step-up to the senior squad.
